close
Thursday March 28, 2024

No evidence of Rangers’ role in PIA killings so far

By Ansar Abbasi
February 14, 2016

ISLAMABAD: The killing of two PIA officials during the airline employees’ recent protest in Karachi appears to be the work of some third party as the police investigation into the case has not yet found any evidence or witness implicating either Rangers or police in the incident.

Sources in Karachi police said that neither the complainant nor any of the witnesses so far interviewed by the police has charged anyone specific with the killing. “There is not even a single witness available to conclude that who had opened the fire on the two protesters,” an informed source said.

The source added that although the police investigation is still on, so far it is inconclusive to identify the killers. There is not even a single witness available as yet who could tell that he had seen any one (whether police, Rangers or a civilian) opening fire on any of the two deceased PIA officials.

Initially some PIA union leaders had blamed Rangers for this killing; however, no one has said it in his statement before the police during the investigations so far.

Interestingly the PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during his recent address in Washington had plainly charge sheeted Pakistani law enforcing agencies on recent PIA killings in Karachi.

Without naming these agencies, the PPP topmost leader said, “Just a couple of days ago, members of our airline union were shot and killed in broad daylight by our law enforcement agencies while protesting the government’s plan.”

In an apparent reference to Karachi Rangers with whom the PPP leadership is uncomfortable for the last several months, Bilawal added, “Counter terrorism forces have no business suppressing legitimate democratic opposition or the people’s right to protest.”

Officially there is no final word from the Sindh government, center or the law enforcing agencies as to who killed two PIA officials during their recent protest in Karachi. The PIA union leaders initially alleged that the Rangers opened the firing but it was denied by the Rangers’ spokesman.

The PIA union in its FIR lodged with Karachi police, also named some federal ministers and others but did not name Rangers or any other law enforcing agency for these killings.

In case it is finally established that neither Rangers nor police opened the fire on the PIA protesters, the real challenge would be to identify the “third party” which might have taken benefit of the situation with the objective of making Rangers controversial.

Some political entities have some reservations against Rangers but the Rangers-led Karachi operation has really made the life difficult for the terrorists, city mafia and underworld. It is feared that some elements belonging to Karachi mafia or terrorist groups might have taken advantage of the situation and had killed the two PIA officials to dent the Karachi operation, which has brought remarkable improvement in the law and order situation in the provincial capital city.