A motorcyclist passes by burning tyres during a city-wide shutdown. PHOTO: INP
The targeted operation in Karachi intensified on Wednesday with the arrest of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s former provincial lawmaker, Nadeem Hashmi, over his alleged involvement in the murders of two policemen.
After his arrest, parts of Karachi were shut down – and buses stopped running, vehicles were torched and ‘unidentified’ people forced shops to close down.
Hashmi was arrested by the Hyderi police in a raid at his house in North Nazimabad late Tuesday night. A few hours before his apprehension, two policemen, Iqbal Arif and Mohammad Ali, were gunned down within the Hyderi police remits.
An FIR, No. 181/13, was registered under Sections 302 and 397/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. However, it is said that the police have no evidence of Hashmi’s involvement in the murders.
Hashmi was serving as the chief of the MQM’s North Nazimabad unit. Before that, he had been elected as a Sindh Assembly member in the by-polls held following the death of MQM leader Dr Mohammad Ali Shah.
Hyderi SHO Arif Razzak, who was leading the raid, told The Express Tribune, “The police investigation wing is trying to gather evidence against him. We arrested him as a suspect.”
The former MPA was moved to the Pirabad police station where MQM leaders, including Khawaja Izharul Hassan, also arrived. “There is a nexus of the Taliban and gangsters in Karachi who are responsible for the law and order situation.
But instead of targeting criminals, the operation is being conducted against the MQM,” Hassan claimed while talking to the media outside the police station.
“The efficiency of the law-enforcement agencies has really shocked us. The murder charges are concocted and baseless,” the MQM leader denounced. “The Sindh IG will tender his resignation if allegations made against Hashmi proved wrong!”
Operation “sabotaged”
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) appealed to the prime minister and the federal interior minister to investigate the “sabotaged” Rangers-led targeted operation that is now being conducted against them.
An angry Haider Abbas Rizvi of the party’s Rabita Committee decried the former MPA’s arrest, saying that Hashmi was implicated in a false murder case. “The operation is targeting only us. Since the operation has begun, our activists have been arrested and offices raided,” said Rizvi at a press conference at the Khursheed Begum Secretariat.
“When we asked the police about the arrest, they told us they had orders from ‘highups’ to apprehend the unit in-charge of every area with a high crime rate. The unit in-charge is not the police SHO who is actually responsible for law and order!” bellowed Rizvi.
The MQM had agreed to the targeted operation as the federal government had ensured the party that it would entail apolitical action against criminals, extortionists and banned outfits, he said. “But that the operation is being politicised.”
“We still have scars from previous operations. Our voters are concerned that this operation would end up like the ones in the past in which thousands were killed, injured or missing,” he said with disdain.
Hashmi’s arrest was testing their patience, he reiterated.
Offices of their party leaders, Rehan Hashmi and Jamal Ahmed, were raided and LCD TVs, computers and fax machines were seized. “Should we not call this looting?”
The ruling party reacts
Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani advised MQM leaders to approach the judiciary instead of making strike calls every time there is action taken against their activists.
“The government would register cases against those who created chaos in Karachi today,” he said, while speaking to reporters after holding a meeting with the Russian consul-general Oleg N. Adeev.
“Many of our leaders, including Asif Ali Zardari, were arrested in the past,” he pointed out, adding that they even spent years in jails. “But we did not protest or gave any strike calls to force people to shut their business.”
Durrani admitted the government has given freehand to the police and Rangers.
City shuts down
In the wake of Hashmi’s arrest, parts of the city were deserted as educational institutions, shops and filling stations were closed. Sporadic incidents of arson also took place in the day, in which six vehicles were torched.
Protesters also burnt tyres on in Liaquatabad and blocked the thoroughfare.
Meanwhile, more than 50 suspects were taken into custody during targeted raids. with additional input from rabia ali
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2013.
COMMENTS (26)
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@Jawaid Iqbal: While I would agree that Karachi gets a bad rap in the world because of the violence there, I would not extend your analogy to the rest of Pakistan. Lahore and cities in Punjab have not suffered because people do not give in to demogogues there. In fact, I had a friend visit Lahore from Burma and they spoke glowingly of Lahore and Sialkot so you too should be more tolerant and fair in your commentary. Maybe Karachi and Sind needs a Shahbaz Sharif to bring development and stability. Karachi has a problem for a number of reasons and it should be fixed. Put politics aside and fix the biggest city in Pakistan because the elected officials of Karachi have done a horrible job. By the way, in North America Pakistan has a better reputation than most Muslim countries, especially Arab countries and Iran because of its successful transition to democracy. To be fair, we have to congratulate President Zardari of Sind who made this possible and elevated Pakistan's standing in the world.
Before slurring on each other read articles about Pakistan in world press. Karachi in particular and Pakistan in general are called cesspool of the world. What a pity that no one gives space to any one. Every body is self-righteous and intollerant of the opinion of others. This situation will never change unless people stop idolating the demagogues and learn to think and talk with reasoning.
In 60s and 70s Pakistan was holding a very respectable position in the muslimworld. In mid 50s its exports were ore than collective exports of Thai Land Malaysia and Phillipines together and dollar was less than three rupee. Indian rupee was equivalent to Rs.0.70. Saudi Riyal's value was less than our rupee. Saudi Arabia requested Pakistan to manage their Finances and a Pakistani named Mohammad Anwar was headed their ministry of finance (his signatures were on Saudi currency). Alomost all the Middle Eastern countries' currencies were printed in Pakistan. Karachi and Punjab Universities were full of Middle Eastern students. People working in gulf countries were paid almost double than the local Arabs. There is an endless list of such glories. Look now where do stand. It all started happening at the time of dictator Zia-ul-Haq who created, pampered and supported parties with varied ethinicity, language, sects etc. and then every thing started falling apart which is going on and there is no end to sight. There is too much to say but..............
@Reader: Hijacked for 30 long years? Political parties, media, judiciary, army, just looking the other way?too bad.Accept mandate earned by MQM.
@Aysha M: Do you even believe the blatant lies you post on Tribune EVERY time a news piece regarding MQM/Karachi is posted.
I wonder if these people are still "Na-Maloom"????
The irony here is that a targeted operation is in place yet the city can be shut down by a political party.........Where's the rule of law? Give up the pipe deam of justice for all.....
@Pakistani: They are equally responsible for what is happening in Karachi. we all know what the sectors and workers are doing in their areas. search it on internet and you can make unlimited case against the culprits
@Pakistani: Like it or not but People of Karachi are hijacked by MQM.
@ Aysha M
Had it not been a calm comment, ET wouldn't have published it.
On the other hand your reply above to Noman clearly shows that how desperate and panicked you were at the time of answering to his simple question that why Schools are forcefully SHUTDOWN in the name of strike?
You are making yourself a laughing stock for everyone by justifying the closure of schools stating that
Every unit office's representatives were on the bikes who were closing the businesses forcefully and you are saying independent actions?
No matter how dire the situation is, nothing justifies the closure of schools and businesses. By your (MQM) actions if anyone was deprived of Roti for that day or a pupil couldn't go to school, it does not matter how many tons of Mustafa Kamal you bring to city and chant that you would make it Paris!
@Physiatrist: Great! supporting MQM is now identified as a condition which requires help from a shrink @Aysha M Reply Protest as much as you like…..but do it calmly.
Dont you ever get tired
@Noman: Educated or uneducated, who wouldnt be tired of such disruptions in day to day life. Nobody benefits from unscheduled closures of educational insitutions. Great to know you are a Karachite, we are in it together, so you got to support a powerful local government, whichever party gets to form it, is irrelevant but it has to come from within Karachi, so GET UP KARACHI
Protest as much as you like.....but do it calmly.
hhhaahahha....you dont know what it is like having an honest and upright leadership......people please leave Aysha M alone....the physiatrist is on the way.
@The Paki!: Judge as much as you like, but please do it calmly
Who is saying that there are only good people in MqM, like any other party mqm has bad people, but the guy who was arrested is certainly not one of them because of his reputation one can easily assess it.
@Aysha M: Yet you couldn't answer my simple question, why shutting down schools forcefully? what benefit does it give to MQM. Fyi, I am as Karachites as you are & educated ppl r sick of all this.
@Pakistani: Probably due to Stockholm Syndrome.
@Aysha M: I doubt your assertion; Destroying public property and causing mayhem seems to be what this "upright leadership" has taught people - the only thing people in Karachi have experienced as a result of these elected officials is terror, instability, and a flight of capital out of Karachi. I support any operation to bring order and peace to Karachi which has been lacking for so long.
Unidentified..hahahahah
@ Noman
Whatever Aysha M has stated above is a blatant lie. No love is greater than feeding your stomach. I am not talking about the leadership level of MQM who have enough money to survive, I am just talking about the party workers/Karkunaan/Saathi. Most of them have a family life and no matter what how much die hard supporters of MQM they are, they NEVER EVER want to close their shops, road stalls, patharas whatever you call it.
This is a complete fabrication of reality. I am myself a very small business man surrounded completely by MQM lovers in my vicinity. I admit that they favor MQM, but they NEVER support this thing, until and unless he is a government employee, who then gives a damn care about these issues.
DONOT fall to these online propaganda games by MQM. Reality is far away from the above statements.
Regardless of who is right or wrong, closing down the city by force or otherwise is totally unacceptable. Any closed down of the city cost daily wage earners their wages for the day and offices and industry has to pay to their salaried employees wages for that day when they didn’t work. Those so call a citywide strike must be forced to pay for wages of those who suffered because of their ill decisions.
@Noman: It snowballs, you will not understand something you have not experienced. People simply love their elected representatives and the party. You dont know what it is like having an honest and upright leadership that cares for you and it shows. Facing death threats they are out in the open during rains in Karachi, or spending nights outside a blazing garment factory, or being at the bombed Abbas town, people are emotional about them and they start to take independent action and sometimes it spirals out of control. What needs to be done is to give people of Karachi their city government, with whom people can relate and be satisfied and not feel dispossessed as they do with the provincial government. GET UP KARACHI, a powerful city government is the panacea to all problems
@Noman: It snowballs, you will not understand something you have not experienced. People simply love their elected party and the representatives. You dont know what it is like having an honest and upright leadership that cares for you and it shows. When they are out in the open during rains when they have death threats, or spending nights outside a blazing garment factory, or be at the bombed Abbas town, people are emotional about them and they start to take independent action and sometimes it spirals out of control. What need to be done is to give people of Karachi their city government, with whom people can relate and be satisfied and not feel disposed as they do with provincial government. GET UP KARACHI, a powerful city government is the panacea to all problems
@Pakistani: True
Agha Siraj Durrani cannot tell us what to do. In Karachi we need authority transferred to our elected representatives. They would decide for us, because we in Karachi have empowered them to do so. Karachi needs a powerful city government. It is no longer possible to deny that to the people. You cannot talk Karachi without Karachi. Karachi is MQM for the last 3 decades. Karachi has been pushed into a liminal space where Karachi and Karachites do not know what their ‘next’ is, so GET UP KARACHI and raise voice for a powerful city government
My only question to this so called educated party,.. why Schools are forcefully SHUTDOWN in the name of strike?
Like it or not but People of Karachi Love MQM.