Rangers lodge FIR against Altaf for murder threats

KARACHI: The Rangers on Tuesday lodged an FIR against Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain for issuing death threats to its officers under Sections 506-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) (Delivering Death Threats) and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
During the 1990s, several FIRs were lodged against Hussain at different police stations in Karachi but they were all later withdrawn under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), promulgated by President Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.
Hence, Tuesday’s FIR is the first against Altaf after the end of the Musharraf regime. The Civil Lines police station said they received a complaint from the Jinnah Courts headquarters of the Rangers, situated on Dr Zia-uddin Ahmed Road, and the complainant was Colonel Tahir Mehmood.
The FIR mentions that on March 11 a raid was conducted by the Rangers on a tip-off about the presence of wanted criminals at the main office of the MQM (A), commonly known as Nine-Zero, Azizabad, Karachi.
During the raid in the morning, several criminals and suspects were arrested along with the recovery of a huge quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives. On the same day at 10:00pm, Altaf Hussain gave an interview to Shahzeb Khanzada on the Geo News TV channel and uttered the following words against officers of the Rangers who conducted the raid: “Jin afsarran nay meray ghar per chhapa mara woh Rangers kay afsaraan thhay — woh thhay, woh abh thhay ho gaye”. (The officers who raided my house “were” Rangers officers – they “were”. The simple past tense used in the sentence indicated a death threat.)
The police after consultation with high-ups registered the FIR against the MQM chief under Sections 506-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) (Delivering Death Threats) and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. Investigation into the case has been transferred to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Faizullah Korejo of Investigation-I, South Zone.
SSP Karejo told The News that investigation into the case is at an initial stage and it is too early to comment on the issue. However, he added that they will go through the statements and claims made by the complainant in the FIR. Further investigation is underway.
Reacting to the registration of an FIR for allegedly threatening the Rangers officers, the MQM Raibta Committee both in London and Karachi had a closed-door meeting Tuesday. It said that legal and constitutional experts are examining the case and would formalise official strategy accordingly.
In a statement issued from London, the Rabita Committee urged workers and sympathisers to remain calm and maintain harmony. Practically speaking, the Rabita Committee said that the allegations against the MQM chief negated the facts and Hussain had faced similar charges in the past too. They said he had successfully been cleared of all these accusations.They said MQM is a peace-loving, liberal and democratic party and would continue its struggle under the guidance of Hussain.