Sindh

Rangers arrest 16 MQM men over extortion charges

At least 1,000 receipts for donations and Rs31,500 were recovered from the men, said Rangers statement

Faraz Khan July 02, 2015

PHOTO: RASHID AJMERI/EXPRESS

Sindh Rangers arrested 16 Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers late on Wednesday night for allegedly extorting money from Karachi’s Rizvia society.

“At least 1,000 receipts for donations and Rs31,500 were recovered from the men,” a Rangers press release said.

The accused will be presented in court, while those proven innocent during investigations will be released, it added.

Read: Paramilitary action: Rangers detain MQM sector incharge

“We will not allow any political or religious party to collect donations or fitra by force,” the statement said, adding those who hold press conferences in support of the arrested will be seen as supporters of such elements.

Further, Rangers appealed to citizens to report at Rangers Helpline 1101 any incident of extortion of forcible collection of donations ensuring that Rangers would provide protection to the public.

COMMENTS (11)

hafiz | 9 years ago | Reply this is just being raciest against mohajir but this ppl forget because of mohajir they hv pakistan today they r the that sacrifies everythng for azad pakistan shame on you guys

Sparta | 9 years ago | Reply @Lord: because its MQM bai log

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freed | 9 years ago | Reply @S.R.H. Hashmi: If you work for MQM, ofcourse it didn't happen to you. Jutification for criminal activities doesn't change the merrit of criminal activites.

Shaikh Mohommad | 9 years ago | Reply "The accused will be presented in court, while those proven innocent during investigations will be released, it added." Excellent news. So far we used to hear that this criminal and that criminal have been shot or detained. No news of bringing them before the courts. We all are waiting for justice to prevail. I request my countrymen to maintain silence as this is now a sub-judice matter and no one should applaud or oppose. People in Karachi were used to bhatta khori and now action is being taken. Again I say it is a good news.

S.R.H. Hashmi | 9 years ago | Reply I have lived in Karachi for decades, including in areas that were MQM strongholds. Yet I was never forced by MQM or any other party for collection of funds. If the Sindh Rangers who have active service military personnel at officer level want to retain any credibility, they should desist from taking controversial actions most of which appear to be taken against a particular party. Rangers say that he accused will be presented in court, while those proven innocent during investigations will be released, and that means the Rangers have taken people into custody without establishing their guilt. And as for the investigations, obviously these will be carried out by Rangers which hardly guarantees that these would be impartial, and the tendency to prove that the action was right would naturally work against the held persons. And even if some people are released, who will compensate them for the inconvenience and harassment that they would have gone through? All over the world, people are supposed to be treated as innocent until proven guilty but the Rangers seems to have reversed it, and people are taken as guilty until proved innocent, and being in Rangers custody and under Rangers investigation, it may not be easy for people to prove themselves innocent. Also, MQM carries out a lot of welfare work like ambulance service, coffin-carrier buses etc and they would need funds for that. Are then Rangers trying to choke these services in an attempt to deprive the people of Karachi of whatever little help is available to them through through private initiatives? Are they by any chance trying to eliminate MQM like was tried earlier during military and civilian operations? Since the Rangers have lot of active military service personnel as their officers, it is taken by the public as basically a military setup and not entirely without justification. Therefore, the military high command should issue clear instructions to Rangers not to get too ambitious and avoid bringing a bad name to the army by involving in highly controversial matters, and as a consequence end up hampering whatever little service is available to the masses through the initiative of MQM and other institutions. Karachi

IBN E ASHFAQUE | 9 years ago | Reply The establishment is targeting MQM only in Karachi while their Jihadi outfits have a field day in Karachi. How Rangers know that these donations were collected by force? Rangers are now the judge, jury and executioner of Karachi.

ali | 9 years ago | Reply When will sindh rangers arrest religious groups collecting fitrah. Many people give fitrah to MQM voluntarily

JBJ | 9 years ago | Reply This news is bigger than anything else on the webpage right now. These 'forced' donations, fitra etc are all illegal and are taken through intimidation. Well done Sindh Rangers. Your actions raise the morale of Karachites.

Lord | 9 years ago | Reply how it shows that they were collecting it forcefully.

Radiohead | 9 years ago | Reply First they forced people of Karachi to attend their Jalsas then they forced people to vote for their candidates and now they're forcing them to give fitra. NOW is the time we should force these biased so called LEA's to leave Karachi.

Usman | 9 years ago | Reply Absolutely fantastic news, for once Karachi may breath easy.

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