One killed in protest as JI buries slain town nazim, calls strike today

Arrested rival party activists tipped police off about threats against Dr Mehmood.

KARACHI: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) had called for a shutter-down strike on September 19 (today) to protest against the killing of party leader and former Liaquatabad Town nazim Dr Pervaiz Mehmood.

The former nazim was gunned down along with his friend in North Nazimabad on Monday night. He is survived by an 11-year-old daugther Rabia and his wife.

JI Karachi chief Muhammad Hussain Mehanti announced the decision following the funeral prayers which were offered at Numaish Chowrangi on Tuesday afternoon. The prayers were led by former city nazim Niamatullah Khan and were attended by hundreds of party activists along with leaders of political parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Najmi Alam, Pakistan Muslim League-N’s Saleem Zia, Awami National Party’s Ameer Nawab.  “Those who have been doing the politics of the gunny bag and terrorism for the last 25 years were the murderers of Dr Pervaiz Mehmood,” said JI Sindh chief Asadullah Bhutto. “Undeterred by open threats, he always raised his voice to expose the real face of the [...],” said Bhutto. “[The party chief] should learn by now that he can kill people but cannot rule the city with terrorism.”

Mehanti criticised the PPP government.“The metropolis is on the verge of collapse and killers are roaming free but no one is taking any action against them.” Former city nazim Niamatullah Khan told The Express Tribune that the police failed to provide security to Dr Pervaiz despite the fact that they knew about a death plot. “The terrorists affiliated with a political party who were arrested last month informed the police about the plot,” he said. Despite being under constant threats, Dr Mehmood had not been given police guards.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Javed Hashmi visited JI’s headquarter, Idarah Noor-e Haq, on Tuesday evening and announced support for the strike. Others backing it include the PML-N, Sunni Tehreek, Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), Ayaz Latif Palejo’s Awami Tehreek and Syed Jalal Mehmood Shah’s Sindh United Party. The Karachi City Alliance, a collective of Lyari-based social and political entities formed by Pakistan Peoples Party leader Habib Jan Baloch, has also announced their support.

Following the funeral, JI leaders announced a sit-in along with the body at Chief Minister House. Hundreds of activists followed the procession which entered the red zone and protested next to the barricades in front of CM house. On their return from the sit-in, the procession took the route via Governor House where according to the police, JI activists fired shots with 9mm pistols and pelted the police with stones as they tried to bar them from entering the area. The police claim that one person was shot by the activists. The JI, however, claimed that an activist from Malir, Abdul Wahid, was shot by the police near Governor House when a scuffle broke out. Abdul Wahid reportedly died at the spot and his body was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. According to the medico-legal report he was shot twice in the chest. His funeral will take place on September 19, at 11am at Tibet Centre. Dr Mehmood graduated from Sindh Medical College in 1987 where he was an activist of the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba. He was later affiliated with the Jamat-e-Islami and elected the town nazim to become a part of former city mayor Niamatullah Khan’s team from 2001 to June 2005.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2012.