Malir-Khokhrapar bloodshed was well-planned: Raza Haroon
There will be no peace as long as criminals have government patronage.
KARACHI:
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) believes that peace cannot be restored unless criminal elements are brought to book. At the same time, however, any attempt to bring peace and stability to Karachi is doomed because the criminals have the tacit support of some government ministers.
“The free and fearless movement of armed terrorists in Malir and Landhi and the police’s role as a silent spectator have forced the MQM to believe all of this [violence] was planned,” said Raza Haroon at a press conference on Saturday evening, as the body count continued to rise. The party made public its position vis a vis the violence that broke out in Malir and Landhi a day earlier.
The MQM stated that while it was a democratic party that respected the mandate and political ideologies of other religious and political parties, it is against criminal elements capturing an area by the power of the gun as it said happened on Friday, July 22.
The MQM once again referred to a breakaway faction - the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) which it believes is behind the violence. “A provincial minister had met the head of the Haqiqi terrorists in Central Prison Karachi on July 11 and announced his full support for [them],” Haroon said.
He said that the minister in question had not only admitted to meeting a Haqiqi leader in a highly provocative speech but had described the head of the Haqiqi “terrorists” as the “true leader of the Mohajirs”.
He said that the MQM had expressed apprehensions that a terrorist attack could be perpetrated against the MQM similar to the one of June 19, 1992. The manner in which the heavily armed criminal elements attacked the houses of workers and sympathisers of the MQM and tried to forcefully occupy party offices was enough to say that the terrorists were given enough time to do what they wanted.
He alleged that more than 50 armed Haqiqi “terrorists” and criminals belonging to a gang war had entered Khokhrapar, Ammar Yasir Society and adjoining areas of Malir and started attacking the houses of MQM workers. They stormed into the houses and fired indiscriminately on sleeping people.
The MQM officials contacted government officials and requested immediate action. The law-enforcing agencies were absent. The men had penetrated the MQM’s unit 89 in Landhi Colony No 1 and also used hand grenades.
Haroon stated that the MQM took back the resignation of Governor Dr Ishrat-ul Ebad because it wanted peace in the province and particularly in the city.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2011.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) believes that peace cannot be restored unless criminal elements are brought to book. At the same time, however, any attempt to bring peace and stability to Karachi is doomed because the criminals have the tacit support of some government ministers.
“The free and fearless movement of armed terrorists in Malir and Landhi and the police’s role as a silent spectator have forced the MQM to believe all of this [violence] was planned,” said Raza Haroon at a press conference on Saturday evening, as the body count continued to rise. The party made public its position vis a vis the violence that broke out in Malir and Landhi a day earlier.
The MQM stated that while it was a democratic party that respected the mandate and political ideologies of other religious and political parties, it is against criminal elements capturing an area by the power of the gun as it said happened on Friday, July 22.
The MQM once again referred to a breakaway faction - the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H) which it believes is behind the violence. “A provincial minister had met the head of the Haqiqi terrorists in Central Prison Karachi on July 11 and announced his full support for [them],” Haroon said.
He said that the minister in question had not only admitted to meeting a Haqiqi leader in a highly provocative speech but had described the head of the Haqiqi “terrorists” as the “true leader of the Mohajirs”.
He said that the MQM had expressed apprehensions that a terrorist attack could be perpetrated against the MQM similar to the one of June 19, 1992. The manner in which the heavily armed criminal elements attacked the houses of workers and sympathisers of the MQM and tried to forcefully occupy party offices was enough to say that the terrorists were given enough time to do what they wanted.
He alleged that more than 50 armed Haqiqi “terrorists” and criminals belonging to a gang war had entered Khokhrapar, Ammar Yasir Society and adjoining areas of Malir and started attacking the houses of MQM workers. They stormed into the houses and fired indiscriminately on sleeping people.
The MQM officials contacted government officials and requested immediate action. The law-enforcing agencies were absent. The men had penetrated the MQM’s unit 89 in Landhi Colony No 1 and also used hand grenades.
Haroon stated that the MQM took back the resignation of Governor Dr Ishrat-ul Ebad because it wanted peace in the province and particularly in the city.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2011.