Sindh

Rangers raid MQM headquarters Nine-Zero, take two leaders into custody

Senior MQM leader Qamar Mansoor and Rabita Committee in charge Kaiful Warah arrested; 8 MQM workers detained

Faraz Khan/rabia Ali/web Desk July 16, 2015

Rangers take MQM leader into custody following a raid on Khursheed Begum Memorial Hall.

Rangers conducted a targetted raid at Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) headquarters Nine-Zero in Azizabad early on Friday morning, arresting Rabita Committee in charge Kaiful Warah and committee member Qamar Mansoor.

The two MQM leaders were reportedly taken into custody for arranging and facilitating hate speeches that were "against peace in Karachi."

Rangers sealed all roads leading to Nine-Zero before raiding party offices and Khursheed Begum Memorial Hall. They detained and questioned several MQM officials before taking Mansoor and Warah into custody.

Rangers entered into MQM Central Office, Khurshid Begum Secretariat a few minutes ago. Have taken #MQM RC member Qamar Mansoor into custody.
— Dr. Nadeem Nusrat (@nadeem_nusrat) July 16, 2015

Rangers have raided at Khursheed begum sec & arrested MQM RC Member Qamar Mansoor
Raided with no search warrant #StopVictimizingMQM
— Wasay Jalil (@WasayJalil) July 16, 2015

Kaif-ul-Warah, Incharge #MQM Rabta Committee, Pakistan, has also been taken into custody by Rangers. Operation continues.
— Dr. Nadeem Nusrat (@nadeem_nusrat) July 16, 2015

The MQM leaders were shifted to an undisclosed location for questioning.

Read: Resolving issues: MQM submits requisition to summon Sindh Assembly session

During the search operation the surrounding houses were sealed and residents were barred from leaving the area. MQM claimed no search warrants were produced even as officials rummaged through various offices and confiscated documents.

Arrested for facilitating hate speeches

The Rangers, in a statement released after the raid, said Mansoor and Warah had been arrested for "arranging and facilitating hate speeches against the peace of Karachi."

Those apprehended tonight from 90, have been arranging and facilitating hate speeches against peace of Karachi.
— DG Rangers Sindh (@Bilalak80) July 16, 2015

Speeches incited violence against officers and soldiers of Pakistan Rangers Sindh, a law enforcement agency of the state, the statement added.

"List of such facilitators has been finalised and more arrests will be made in near future."

Later, Rangers surrounded the houses of MQM leader Farooq Sattar and Haider Abbas Rizvi, but they did not conduct a raid or did arrest anyone. However, neither was present at their homes at the time.

Separately, MQM workers from various parts of the city were also detained. Those include joint sector and unit in charges from Malir, sector member from Model Colony, and four party workers from Orangi Town.

No warrants presented for raid: Barrister Saif

Addressing a press conference after the raid, MQM leader Barrister Saif said they were continuing their welfare work within the ambit of law.

"If a Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation charity donation receipt is recovered from someone's pocket, it is as if they have been caught red-handed," Saif said.

He claimed Rangers had not conducted the raid as per law, alleging no warrants had been presented.

Read: Escalating: PTI, MQM file FIRs against each other in same Karachi police station

Following the raid, a large number of MQM workers and supporters reached Nine-Zero and protested against the arrest of their leaders.

MQM workers and supporters protesting outside Nine-Zero. PHOTO: COURTESY MQM

Earlier in the evening, MQM had hosted the annual assistance programme of the Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation at Jinnah Ground. The gathering had also been addressed by MQM chief Altaf Hussain.

This is the second raid on MQM headquarters in 2015. On March 11, in a targeted operation, Rangers carried out a similar and arrested more than 120 party workers.

COMMENTS (50)

moqamoqa | 9 years ago | Reply majority of comments it seems aren't residents of Karachi so they dont know the reality on my streets or some handful are settlers who maintain bias against Karachiites in their approach. I was for across the board operation against criminals but now i see there is blatant victimization and discrimination going on against an ethnic community. The day provincial govt cronies were allowed to go out of country like Dr Mirza i sensed it for good that operation is biased. Rangers are biased, if the useless money which we utilize for them by Sindh can better be used to revamp fragile Sindh police infrastructure! Totally disgusted at this biased attitude by LEA. While regarding hate speech issue i would be really happy if it would have taken place against sectarian, religious and other groups who spit venom against my countrymen everyday on my streets!

Haider | 9 years ago | Reply @syed & syed They also raided office of Sunni-Tehreek and why Sindh govt was not willing to extend operation..

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Jawed Saleem | 9 years ago | Reply @S.R.H. Hashmi: Crux of the matter : "listening to criticism" is treated as criminal offense" ! ** No offence/pun intended, you/we are "farting against thunder"!

Tarchun | 9 years ago | Reply This no solution. It's like a fascist state moving against its critics, rather than providing evidence of even handedness, they gone to the other opposite extreme. One that will predictably increase support for militancy and increase the division. Hate speech has recently been the vogue, with several well known (highly respected but unsavoury) personalities spewing forth similar threats! By all means act against criminals, but please, for the sake of justice, do so against all criminals

Kalam | 9 years ago | Reply Punjabi establishment is upto creating another bangladesh .

S.R.H. Hashmi | 9 years ago | Reply Having lived in Britain for nearly a decade and comparing that with the situation in Pakistan, I both laugh and cry over mentality of very many of Pakistanis. It is a fact that the civilian and military officials in UK, including the heads of civilian law enforcers offer a much higher standard of living, secure borders and a degree of internal peace and tranquility which the people in Pakistan could not even dream of. Still, all the state officials there are often subjected to criticism for real or even perceived wrongdoings. Yet the officials there bear with all this and humbly try to explain their position and even that when asked to do so, without showing any bad temper at any stage. And this is because over there, all the state officials, even up to the highest levels are considered and treated strictly as public servants, who are appointed to their positions in order to serve the public and to serve it well, and not to lord over them. Unfortunately, in Pakistan there is a tendency for the masses to place their leaders and state officials on so high a pedestal from where they can only look down upon them, and see them as insignificant particles of dirt, or even filth. And this is despite the leaders’ corruption, insatiable greed, nepotism and mismanagement of the state’s resources. While this tendency to treat leaders and state officials as something super-natural, beyond all reproach and above all criticism is quite widespread in Pakistan, I did not see this sort of naivety even in the least developed and developing African countries where the masses treat their leaders for what they are worth. And this leads me to the inevitable conclusion that having lived in the land of Chaudhris, Waderas, Nawabs, Sardars and above all, the British Sarkar, submissiveness has so permeated into their system that it has become their second nature which may take them a few centuries to shed, if at all that was possible. And of course, treated with so much respect and awe, a state official of even the lowest cadre in Pakistan considers himself to the ruler of the highest level, and behaves with the masses accordingly. And considering all this, I was not at all surprised that the Rangers, in a statement released after the raid, (at Nine Zero) said Mansoor and Warah had been arrested for “arranging and facilitating hate speeches against the peace of Karachi.” However, the real masterpiece was the Dawn, Metro’s heading of July 17 which read “Ex-minister (Rauf Siddiqui of MQM) gets protective bail after being booked for listening to Altaf’s speech”. God bless the people of this country with some self respect and good sense, even if they do not seem to be worthy of it, neither do they particularly aspire for such traits. Karachi

S.R.H. Hashmi | 9 years ago | Reply Having lived in Britain for nearly a decade and comparing that with the situation in Pakistan, I both laugh and cry over mentality of very many of Pakistanis. It is a fact that the civilian and military officials in UK, including the heads of civilian law enforcers offer a much higher standard of living, secure borders and a degree of internal peace and tranquility which the people in Pakistan could not even dream of. Still, all the state officials there are often subjected to criticism for real or even perceived wrongdoings. Yet the officials there bear with all this and humbly try to explain their position and even that when asked to do so, without showing any bad temper at any stage. And this is because over there, all the state officials, even up to the highest levels are considered and treated strictly as public servants, who are appointed to their positions in order to serve the public and to serve it well, and not to lord over them. Unfortunately, in Pakistan there is a tendency for the masses to place their leaders and state officials on so high a pedestal from where they can only look down upon them, and see them as insignificant particles of dirt, or even filth. And this is despite the leaders’ corruption, insatiable greed, nepotism and mismanagement of the state’s resources. While this tendency to treat leaders and state officials as something super-natural, beyond all reproach and above all criticism is quite widespread in Pakistan, I did not see this sort of weakness and meekness even in the least developed and developing African countries where the masses treat their leaders for what they are worth. And this leads me to the inevitable conclusion that having lived in the land of Chaudhris, Waderas, Nawabs and above all, the British Sarkar, submissiveness has so permeated into their system that it has become their second nature which may take them a few centuries to shed, if at all that was possible. And of course, treated with so much respect and awe, a state official of even the lowest cadre in Pakistan considers himself to the ruler of the highest level, and behaves with the masses accordingly. And considering all this, I was not at all surprised that the Rangers, in a statement released after the raid, (at Nine Zero) said Mansoor and Warah had been arrested for “arranging and facilitating hate speeches against the peace of Karachi.” However, the real masterpiece was the Dawn, Metro’s heading of July 17 which read “Ex-minister (Rauf Siddiqui of MQM) gets protective bail after being booked for listening to Altaf’s speech”. God bless the people of this country with some self respect and good sense, even if they do not seem to be worthy of it, neither do they particularly aspire for such traits. Karachi

Karachite | 9 years ago | Reply MQM needs to stop playing the ethnicity card and face the reality that a generation has passed and there is no such thing as Mohajirs. You are a dirty stain on the people of Karachi and Pakistan that must be washed off. MQM should stop playing victim, they deserve what they are getting. In fact, they deserve even worse. I don't understand why our security forces are going so easy on them. I am urdu speaking and born in Karachi. MQM DOES NOT REPRESENT ME. People of Pakistan need to understand that MQM has hijacked the people of Karachi for decades.

ABC | 9 years ago | Reply @Lahori: Yeah your statement seems legit. You have serious problems if the enemy of states are prosecuted. BTW try better acting next time

Rehan | 9 years ago | Reply When was the last time you were served with a traffic ticket for not obeying traffic laws? Can you really come up with an argument that everyone is breaking traffic signal so what if I did it too with police officer that he actually accepted and let you go? In real world that’s how it works. Everyone’s wrong doing give you no right to do the same and get away with it. It’s long since MQM been going beyond limits and such actions should have been taken long ago by law enforcement agencies. It’s a good start to eliminate all criminal activities from Pakistan and I believe similar treatment is waiting for everyone who is working against the interest of the country. Long live Pakistan.

Jawed Saleem | 9 years ago | Reply "Supremacist" attitude/mind-set of Establishment destroyed the country after 1951. Learn from past mistakes. Repetition of mistakes is a cardinal sin. No wonder, Pakistan is laughing stock! Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah must be turning in his grave.

ziaurrehman | 9 years ago | Reply @Hasan Askari: Duh.. -_-

Funny politician | 9 years ago | Reply I guess this is what Altaf would like to see. He have been trying to provoke rangers in his speech. Now he can play victim.

Dazzle786 | 9 years ago | Reply @Sindhi: Stop being in denial. Start blaming that slob in UK Stop playing the victim card when you know very well the activities of your leaders

Dazzle786 | 9 years ago | Reply @Truth: What total crap

excalibur | 9 years ago | Reply Zardari, Khwaja Asif and Imran Khan are not picked up for worse hate speeches Punjabi hegemony condemnable Kuch Haya karo

raider | 9 years ago | Reply ranger and other security forces have decided to weed out miscreants and political forces laced with militia will have to lick the dust,mqm should do politics but not militancy but i think they are totally based on their dirty business, how could they get them out of this mess even if they want, no one will vote them under no intimidation, how the party would get be propelled without extortion, fitrana, ransom etc, etc, how gathering of thousand will be arranged for altaf hussain to give direction to workers and threats to rivals even they claim of their being middle class, instead of whining about old rants of muhajir victimization plz mqm wake up and smell a coffee and make a political party and do politics instead of inflating anarchy which is long awaited

Munir | 9 years ago | Reply I'm going to quote what Jamie Fox told Jennifer Garner in the 2007 movie Kingdom "We're gonna kill them, Kill them all". Dear DG Rangers please do the same for this MQM has ruined the glory of Karachi.

John | 9 years ago | Reply @Hasan Askari: Of course we are taking you guys really serious. One should never underestimate the power of stupid people, in large groups. If Hitler can have a following why can’t Altaf Hussain have one? Except that such followers were called Hitler's apologists and in MQM's case, Altaf Hussain's apologists.

Ali Kayani | 9 years ago | Reply Very good Rangers keep thugs away from Karachi. Do what you have to do to save karachi this political illegal militant wing must end . People who are supporting mqm should accept the fact that mqm is involved in illegal activities and militant wing in karachi.

Mansoor Sindhi | 9 years ago | Reply Media should not take side with militant and criminal groups of Karachi. We need stable and peaceful Karachi. The city has been bleeding for last three decades. Finally, we have hope that Sindh Rangers and Law enforcement agencies will clean this city from criminal and militant groups. Old days of glory will return. Now ethnic card and all sort of propaganda will be used by MQM to stop operation against it. Mafia party will go to any extent to hurt our state in order to protect their militant wing. Our Govt and institutes should stay strong and focused, no matter what, they make sure peace prevails in Karachi. People of Sindh are with Ranger because we need peace, not criminal gangs and warlords.

Hasan Askari | 9 years ago | Reply TTP killed 80000 Imran talked about giving them offices and called them brothers Isnt that facilitating killing let alone speech dont worry...we are still with mqm

Xoxo | 9 years ago | Reply Great job. One political party demolished 3 more to go. This is a slow but sure way to ensure that military runs every aspect of govt.

Sam | 9 years ago | Reply True democracy where you don't have basic rights and freedom of speech is also taken away now. Really not sure what's Rangers motive here. Corrupt people are all our and can't see the number of people tried or sentenced by rangers actions. We need numbers to prove Rangers is doing their job or they can go and defend the borders where they truly belong.

Awais | 9 years ago | Reply Good jobs guys... Keep it up... Don't spare anyone who is against our peace.

Hasan Askari | 9 years ago | Reply Good that rangers have exposed themselves This was never an operation to clean anything It was always political

Salman | 9 years ago | Reply Honey moon time over MQM.

Shabeeb | 9 years ago | Reply this will lead to sampthy towards MQM

Sindhi | 9 years ago | Reply Mohajirs are being targeted by the Punjabis. They want to control Sindh also.

Azi | 9 years ago | Reply Very good. Love you rangers for bringing these hate speech and violence inciting people into public view. Please keep up the good work.

Petrolhead | 9 years ago | Reply Makes sense. The silly speeches have got out of hand.

Peace | 9 years ago | Reply Great news to start the day. Keep the good work Rangers. Our prayers are with you And those who have wronged are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned 26:227

buga | 9 years ago | Reply Rubbish. If "hate speech" is a crime then you better get bigger jails. Akin to Obama tossing one of his political opponents in jail because he didn't like what he said.

melkor | 9 years ago | Reply Well done rangers....And here come the indian trolls who cant get enough of our pakistani newspapers

Aliii | 9 years ago | Reply Well done Rangers !! May ALLAH help you in making Karachi peaceful city again. Those spreading hate speeches against ARM forces in critical time, when Pakistan facing many challenges should be dealt thoroughly and strongly. Pakistan is fade up of all these politicians and mafias, who couldn't bring in peace & energy in country in last 8 years.

Karachi Citizen | 9 years ago | Reply Really hope rangers rid people of Karachi of MQM. These people still threaten residents of our area, although they do not identify themselves as MQM workers anymore. They are the same people however... Altaf's thugs. May Allah make an example of him and his abbetors in this world and the next.

aamir awan | 9 years ago | Reply mqm should separate itself from millitant wing, apologize from nation and restart their politics otherwise mqm have no future

Imran Qadri | 9 years ago | Reply Good work,bust these trouble makers one by one. Rangers should also demolish illegally built unit and sector offices of MQM which they have built by encroaching parks,green areas,foot paths and govt and private properties.

Shujaat | 9 years ago | Reply This operation is unfortunately going to help MQM win more sympathy in Urban Sindh.

Truth | 9 years ago | Reply The Rangers action is provocative so that people come on the street and protest in response to raid and they get opportunity for mass genocide of urdu speaking..

Ahmed | 9 years ago | Reply subhanallah... Thank you ET for good news at Sehri time.

Hammad Mian | 9 years ago | Reply Very Well done Rangers, keep it up!

Kepler-8B | 9 years ago | Reply This is reminding me a photo from Irag war when American troops invaded Iraq captured bunch of civilian and treating them like animals. Remember you are innocent until proven guilty.

OBSERVER | 9 years ago | Reply Rangers has no courage to take action against PPP and Zardari in frustration targeting 90 and mqm and treating Karachi as a conquered city and arrested people as POW....it seems they want to repeat 1971

Syed | 9 years ago | Reply Eid mubarak. ..thank you rangers for giving us such a good news on Eid.

Lahori | 9 years ago | Reply Sorry to say but it seems like Occupied Karachi. I am punjabi and I don't support these actions of rangers.

Ali S | 9 years ago | Reply MQM will keep paying the price for everytime Altaf Hussain opens his mouth from the comfort and safety of London. It's time for them to move on from the fat man in London and start over with a clean slate for themselves and for the people of Karachi.

syed & syed | 9 years ago | Reply Why MQM alone. It appears that rangers does not have courage to touch other parties.

salman | 9 years ago | Reply Allah u Akbar. All Indian agents should be flushed out for good.

Pakistani | 9 years ago | Reply Ranger doing well

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