Sindh govt retracts decision of imposing ban on pillion riding

A day after prominent religious scholar Maulana Adil Khan's assassination, the Sindh government imposed a ban on pillion riding on motorcycles in Karachi for a month. However, after the restriction drew criticism, the ban was revoked by the home department.

A notification issued by the provincial home department on Sunday maintained that the action had been taken amid a rise in criminal activities in the port city.

The decision from the provincial authorities came on the request of Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon, who conveyed his fears in a letter to the home department on Saturday. Memon wrote that miscreants and disgruntled elements may disturb the peace and create law and order problems in Karachi by carrying out targeted killings.

The communique maintained that incidents such as the lobbing of hand grenades and targeted attacks on law enforcement personnel as well as religious scholars have been reported in the city. "Therefore, keeping [this] in view, he [Memon] has requested to impose a ban on pillion riding for a period of one month with immediate effect," read the notification.

The home department's notification further added that the ban shall not apply to women, children below the age of 12 years, senior citizens, personnel of law enforcement agencies, security agencies in uniform, employees of essential services and journalists, subject to showing their press or service cards.

The ban met condemnation from political parties, with Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman pointing out that the city was already deprived of transport facilities.

“Appropriate measures should be taken to deal with crime; banning pillion riding is not a solution,” he observed. “Citizens make use of pillion riding since inflation is already high. Imposing a ban in such a situation is an act of cruelty.”

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan MPAs, in a statement, said that rising crime in Karachi had already proved the incompetence of the Sindh government, which was further underscored by the ban.

Saying that the provincial government should correct itself rather than punishing citizens for its incapacity, they added that the ban would severely inconvenience the city’s lower-income citizens and students.

The health department issued a second notification withdrawing the ban late on Sunday night, stating that this had been done in view of a reassessment of the security situation in the city.

Maulana Adil Khan, the administrator of Jamia Farooqia seminary, was gunned down along with his driver on Saturday near Shama Shopping Centre, Shah Faisal Colony. The attackers, on a motorcycle, opened fire at him and his driver Maqsood, fleeing the scene afterwards.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the assassination. Taking to Twitter, the premier wrote that for the last three months, his government had been aware of Indian attempts to target Shia and Sunni scholars in order to create sectarian unrest in the country.

"We have prevented a number of such attempts pre-emptively in [the] last few months. Our intelligence organisations and law enforcement agencies will nab culprits of this murder also," he added. He further called upon clerics belonging to all sects to ensure that people did not fall prey to these attempts to destabilise Pakistan.