Truth or false: Party workers protest killing in 'fake encounter'

KARACHI:

Scores of activists and supporters of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazlur Rehman (JUI-F) staged a demonstration to protest the killing of their party's local leader on Sunday.

The JUI-F's local leader, Mufti Shah Faisal, was killed in an alleged encounter with the District Malir Police in Swat Colony, Quaidabad, on Friday. Six other suspected militants were killed in the encounter, the police had claimed.

After identifying the body, Faisal's family, accompanied by a large number of party workers and supporters staged a protest at Numaish Chowrangi, MA Jinnah Road on Sunday. The mourners sat with Faisal's body in the middle of the road, causing all vehicular traffic to be suspended.



They claimed that the police had killed Faisal and his accomplices in a 'fake encounter'. "The police had Faisal in their custody for over three months," said JUI-F general council member Maulana Omar Sadiq, while talking to The Express Tribune. "We visited and met several officials of the police, Rangers and the Sindh government and they all assured us that he will be released soon," he added. "They did fulfill their promise of releasing him. Only, he was dead by then."

Meanwhile, the protesters gathered at Numaish Chowrangi pledged that they will not bury him until the Sindh government and the police department took action against the District Malir Police chief, SSP Rao Anwar. The latter had taken credit of killing Faisal in the encounter, claiming that he was affiliated with the Taliban.

The protest ended at 5pm after the authorities assured them of full cooperation. The funeral prayers were offered at Numaish Chowrangi and Faisal was later buried at the Taiser Town graveyard in Surjani Town.

"We are going back but we will return if our demands are not met," warned Sadiq. "The police department must take action against those police officers, particularly SSP Anwar, who killed our man and declared him a 'terrorist'." Sadiq explained that the officials from the Sindh government and the police department had assured them that an inquiry committee was being formed to investigate the matter.

In the same encounter, the District West police team led by SSP Anwar, had claimed to have killed six other alleged militants. For his part, SSP Anwar refuted the allegations of the JUI-F and was adamant in his stance that those killed were militants. "Who was a mufti? Faisal was no mufti. He was a terrorist," said SSP Anwar resolutely.

"When does anyone admit their man was a criminal?" he questioned. "Every criminal supports other criminals. Protest demonstrations and people screaming that their men were innocent after being killed in police encounters has become a tradition in Karachi."

SSP Anwar questioned the JUI-F's claims, saying, "If, like they are suggesting, I wanted to kill him, why would I wait for three months to do so?"

The police official said that Faisal was the TTP's commander for Manghopir and Sultanabad. Besides raising funds for the Taliban and providing them logistical support, Faisal was also involved several cases of terrorism and crime, he claimed, adding that he would share the details of all his (Faisal's) criminal activities with the media soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2014.