‘Illegal arrests expose democratic govt as worse than martial law’

Karachi
Members of the Coordination Committee of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement have said illegal raids on houses of workers and supporters of the party and their arrests have exposed the tall claims of the democratic government and termed its rule worse than the era of previous martial law regimes.
In a statement issued on Saturday, they protested the “unwanted and illegal arrests” of MQM workers and supporters and their shifting to unknown places, and termed these actions a conspiracy against the law and the constitution of Pakistan.
They said the arrests and detentions in “the garb of a targeted operation is being done under a planned conspiracy which has created uncertainty and spread fear in every nook and corner of Karachi”.
Coordination Committee members added that Rangers personnel in the wee hours of Saturday raided a house in Liaquatabad and arrested a member of a unit committee, Muhammad Asif. Even on Friday plain-clothes law enforcers arrested Muhammad Jawed, son-in-law of MQM elders’ wing member, Muhammad Ejaz. Jawed’s son, Muhammad Ali Khan, was also arrested.
They expressed grave concern over the ever-increasing raids and arrests of party workers and supporters from almost every part of the city, and added that MQM Orangi Town Sector Unit 124 member Anees, son of Hanif, was also arrested the other day.
They said arrests of innocent MQM workers and supporters must be stopped immediately and the operation should be focused on “the real terrorists and enemies of the state”.
A day earlier, the MQM hadsubmitted a letter to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, claiming excesses committed by the para-military Rangers in their ongoing security operation in Karachi.
The letter was submitted yesterday by MQM's International Secretariat, and was undersigned by the party's Head of International Relations.
The party in its letter sent to the UN, alleges that their workers are being mistreated during the current security operation being conducted in Karachi, and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) are unlawfully detaining their activists.
The letter specifically mentions the raid conducted on MQM's headquarters on the night of July 17, and the subsequent arrest of Qamar Mansoor, a member of the party's Rabita Committee.