An unannounced partial strike was observed in the city on Thursday as Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) supporters took to the streets in various parts of the city to protest the late-night arrest of the party's workers.
Around 23 MQM workers were arrested by Rangers personnel at the party's Gulshan-e-Maymar Sector and MPA office on Abul Hassan Isphani Road, late Wednesday night. Around 500 workers were present at the sector office for a general workers convention at the time.
After the passage of four hours, the Rangers finally issued a statement regarding the arrests and admitted to have taken 23 suspects into custody. They claimed that the miscreants had initially opened fire at a routine patrol of the paramilitary force.
"We only arrested the miscreants and the action was not unjust," said the Rangers spokesperson. "It is the prime task of the Pakistan Rangers to maintain the writ of the law and miscreants who fire on law enforcement agencies (LEAs) cannot be let off." He added that eight suspects were released after interrogation, while the 15 remaining suspects were being interrogated.
On the other hand, health minister Sagheer Ahmed said that the Rangers' claim that party workers had fired upon them were baseless. Ahmed said that they were talking to the Rangers over the release of their men, and were hopeful that their workers will be set free soon. Some negotiations did take place on Thursday evening and it was expected that the sit-ins will be called off later that night.
Although no incident of firing and rioting occurred in the city during the sit-ins, the uncertain law and order situation caused panic and fear among the citizens and also adversely affected routine and commercial activities in the city.
Public transport was thin on the main thoroughfares.
The sit-in at Star Gate also affected commuters trying to reach the airport. "No flight schedule was altered, however, as passengers managed to reach the airport on time,"said Civil Aviation Authority's spokesperson Pervez George.
Schools’ closure
Students and teachers turned up in low numbers at a majority of schools. As the protest sit-ins expanded across the city, the associations for private schools directed the school owners to self-determine about the closure of schools, keeping in view the situation in their areas. Most of the institutions decided to close after half-time.
“While no reports of violence had emerged, there was uncertainty about the law and order situation in the city,” Syed Khalid Shah, the All Private Schools Management Association’s chairperson, told The Express Tribune. “Upon frantic calls from worried parents and school owners, the association found it appropriate to leave this decision on the schools.”
Shah added that the association will decide about resuming academic activities on Friday after analysing the city’s situation by late Thursday night. Meanwhile, the University of Karachi had also announced to call off exams that were scheduled for the day. Petrol pumps in various parts of the city also remained closed. “There was less than 10 per cent of the normal business in the city. Traders and shopkeepers spent the whole day idling at their workplaces,” All Karachi Tajir Ittehad chairperson Atiq Mir told The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2014.
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