KARACHI: The notification announcing monetary rewards for seven of the eight militants that the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Sindh police claimed to have arrested on January 2 was issued just four days before their alleged capture.
On January 2, the SIU claimed to have arrested eight members of the force and had accused them of being involved in at least a dozen sectarian killings, including the assassinations of three doctors. This was disclosed by the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO), Karachi Fayyaz Leghari in a press conference at the Old CIA Centre in Saddar.
Even before the CCPO’s briefing, the families of the arrested persons as well as Shia leaders had held press conferences and had told the media that the law enforcement agencies had started an alleged crackdown against Shias since Ashura. The agencies had allegedly picked up several innocent Shias during various raids in different parts of the city. The families have also filed a petition in the court on the matter.
The Express Tribune managed to obtain a copy of the notification which announced a head money on seven of the eight men arrested later. The notification was issued by the Sindh home department on December 29, 2010.
The list included names of some 10 persons, including the seven alleged target killers of the Mehdi force, which falls under the umbrella of the Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan (SMP). The seven included Syed Ibrar Hussain Rizvi, Syed Tanveer Abbass Rizvi alias Kashif alias Mehdi, Syed Sikander Rizvi, Syed Ali Mehdi, Syed Pervaiz Zaidi, Hasnain Abbass alias Faisal and Syed Rifat Raza Rizvi. Three other names including Hafiz Qasim Rasheed alias Ganja, Qari Abid Iqbal Mehsud and Malik Tasaduq were also placed in the reward list.
A total of Rs2.8 million was announced as reward money on these seven men.
SIU fends off the strange coincidence
SIU chief SSP Raja Umer Khattab said that some elements wanted to create a bad image of the SIU and it is a conspiracy against them. The reward list was not just a justification for the arrests made earlier, he clarified, adding that the list included names of three Lashkar-e-Jhangvi men along with the SMP militants.
“It is just good luck that the SMP men were arrested soon after their names were put on that list,” he explained.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Investigation) Iftikhar Tarar, who leads the SIU, told The Express Tribune that there was no personal enmity between the SIU and the Mehdi force. Explaining the announcement of the head money, DIG Tarar said that the home department was asked to announce the head money on these hardcore militants after they managed to escape under the cover of firing in an encounter with the SIU team near Moti Mehal, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, on December 18, 2010. After which the home department announced the head money and luckily, within two or three days, the SIU officials captured them.
It is also interesting to note that the names of the Mehdi force militants were placed in the list under the title of criminal and dacoits. The SIU claimed that they were hardcore criminals and had been involved in around one dozen sectarian-based target killings so their crimes fall under high profile cases, not in the category of dacoits or criminals.
According to notification issued:
| Name of notorious dacoits recommended for reward money | Amount of reward money recommended |
| Hafiz Qasim Rasheed alias Ganja | Rs500,000 |
| Qari Abid Iqbal Mehsood | Rs500,000 |
| Malik Tasaduq | Rs500,000 |
| Syed Ibrar Hussain Rizvi alias Mushtaq | Rs500,000 |
| S Tanveer Abbass Rizvi alias Kashif | Rs500,000 |
| S Sikander Rizvi alias Sajid/Muhammad | Rs500,000 |
| S Ali Mehdi alias Bablo | Rs400,000 |
| S Parvaiz Ali Zaidi alias Zubair | Rs500,000 |
| Hasnain Abbass alias Faisal | Rs200,000 |
| S Riffat Raza Rizvi alias Jahangir | Rs200,000 |
Published in The Express Tribune, January 6th, 2011.
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