Demanding evidence: Nationalists call Karachi operation a farce

HYDERABAD:

Sindhi nationalist parties have decided to be a part of the Supreme Court proceedings which will look into the spate of violence in Karachi.

“We want the evidence of all crimes committed in Karachi since May 12, 2007 on record,” said the leaders of Sindh Bachayo Committee at a joint press briefing in Jamshoro. The parties will submit their request at the Karachi registry of the Supreme Court on August 29. They have already sought the services of eminent lawyer Mujeeb Peerzada, who will be assisted by barristers Ayaz Palijo and Zameer Ghumro.

They also said that the ongoing surgical operation to weed out Karachi’s terrorists is a farce. “The operation is only targeting Sindhi, Baloch and Pakhtun areas,” said Sindh United Party president Jalal Mehmood Shah. Shah is also the convener of the Sindh Bachayo Committee.

Shah earlier presided over a meeting which reviewed the ongoing operation in Karachi, relief efforts rain ravaged districts of Sindh and the Supreme Court’s suo motu notice of the situation in Karachi. The meeting was attended by Dr Qadir Magsi from Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party, Awami Tehreek’s Ayaz Palijo and other leaders.

They appealed to the citizens of Karachi to help them collect evidence against criminals. Shah said that they have established a legal aid centre at the party’s Hyder Manzil office. The centre will collect criminal records and offer legal assistance to people who wish to pursue cases against those responsible for the violence.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th,  2011.