MQM claims to have evidence Rangers killed Waqas

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Thursday demanded of the government to constitute a judicial commission to probe into the murder of Waqas Ali Shah who was shot dead during the raid carried out by Rangers a day earlier at Nine Zero.

MQM leader Dr. Farooq Sattar made the above demand while addressing a press conference here, one day after the paramilitary force raided the MQM Headquarters.

He claimed that MQM is in possession of concrete evidence ‘proving that Waqas Ali Shah had been shot dead as a result of Rangers firing’. “We have irrefutable evidence that Waqas Ali Shah was murdered by Rangers firing,” he said.

However, he added that no such impression should be taken from his statement that there is some kind of confrontation between MQM and Rangers.

He said dozens of houses were searched in the vicinity of Nine Zero and 110 people were taken into custody on the pretext of tracking down a handful of outlaws. “Majority of these people have no links whatsoever with MQM,” he said.

Contrary to the MQM’s yesterday’s stance, Dr Farooq Sattar in today's press conference defended the party’s keeping the weapons. He said in the wake of serious threats it was MQM’s right to keep arms and ammunition at its Headquarter.

The MQM leaders had maintained yesterday that Rangers had brought along with them these weapons ‘wrapped in blankets’.

The Rangers had seized a huge cashe of arms and ammunition from MQM Headquarters in Wednesday’s raid and arrested what they described as hardened criminals. The Rangers’s spokesman had said that some of the weapons appeared to have been stolen from NATO containers.

Haider Abbas Rizvi, another senior leader of MQM, said during the same press conference that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan wanted to erect a castle over the dead body of MQM.

Imran Khan had paid tribute to the Rangers for conducting a successful raid on Nine Zero.