‘No-go area’: Altaf refutes Rangers claim about Nine-Zero

Says statement based on lies; MQM claims no one arrested from HQ

KARACHI:

The Rangers chief’s statement terming the MQM headquarters a “no-go area” is based on lies, said party chief Altaf Hussain on Thursday, the day that followed a pre-dawn raid by the paramilitary force on Nine Zero.

As the day progressed, the MQM’s tone mellowed; unlike past instances, when the party leadership strongly lashed out at the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) over raids and arrests, this time round it appeared to have given in to the situation.

Flanked by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Faisal Subzwari and Haider Abbas Rizvi, the MQM held a press conference led by MNA Farooq Sattar at the Khursheed Begum Secretariat.

Giving no signs of hostility, Sattar repeated several times that there was no “Rangers versus MQM” situation. He remained gentle and rather apologetic.

‘No arrests from HQ’

Sattar claimed no one was arrested from the party headquarters, adding that all the raids were made on nearby localities.

“If the basic aim of the siege and search operation was to arrest wanted men,” he said, “then why were dozens of houses raided and men arrested?” He said 110 men were arrested from localities around Nine Zero, many of whom were not associated with the party.

“Around 27 men have been presented in court. The rest of them should be immediately released. This is our appeal.”

He made it clear that the party had been and would be fully cooperating with the LEAs. “Altaf bhai has said if anyone from the MQM is found to be a criminal, even then we shall cooperate; we have a zero-tolerance policy against violence.”

He said MQM stood firm on its position that party activist Waqas Ali Shah was killed by the Rangers. He said the party demanded a judicial commission to probe the incident.

‘Licensed weapons’

Party leaders parried questions about the Rangers bringing weapons with them, as claimed by the MQM chief.

They showed the media files containing armed licences and said their men carried arms because they faced threats from Taliban and militants.

“Can the government take responsibility for Nine Zero? For 21 exit and entrance points, we have been given only 10 police officers for a one-time duty.”

Sattar said no weapon carried by the party’s members was stolen from NATO containers, as claimed earlier by the Rangers.

Following the press conference, the party removed barriers from its main entrance near Mukka Chowk.

The MNA said the Rangers had told the party to reform its security arrangements. “Nine Zero is not a no-go area. We had erected barriers for our security.”

MQM leader Haider Abbas Rizvi lashed out at PTI chief Imran Khan, saying that he was living in a fool’s paradise if he believed that he would be able to eliminate the MQM and do politics in Karachi.

Corps Cdr briefed on raid

Karachi Corps Commander Lt-Gen Naveed Mukhtar visited the Rangers headquarters, where he was briefed about the raid.

The Rangers chief said the paramilitary force had acted in accordance with the ruling of the Supreme Court and the mandate given to them by the government.

He said they had arrested target killers sentenced to death by courts and seized a large quantity of illegal weapons.

Lt-Gen Mukhtar inspected the weapons and expressed hope that the ongoing operation would continue until all criminals are eliminated.

Funeral

Waqas Ali Shah’s funeral prayer was offered at the Jinnah Ground in Azizabad. His family, relatives and friends as well as a large number of party leaders and activists, including MPAs Khawaja Izharul Hassan, Faisal Subzwari and Wasay Jalil, attended the ceremony.

The police have registered a complaint against unidentified men in the case of Shah’s killing. Moreover, the Azizabad police have registered 26 separate FIRs against 26 alleged target killers, including Faisal Mehmood aka Faisal Mota.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2015.