Four close aides of Makhdoom Jameel detained

HYDERABAD: The Matiari and Hyderabad police have taken joint action in Matiari and Karachi and detained four close associates of PPP MNA Makhdoom Jameel-uz-Zaman over an ongoing social media campaign against the Sindh home minister.

The detainees are Mumtaz Shah, coordinator of Sarwari Jamaat's spiritual leader Makhdoom Jameel-uz-Zaman, Osama Korejo, social media spokesperson, and Saif Khaskheli and Azhar Qazi.

According to sources, the police of Matiari and Hyderabad have detained the four from District Matiari and Karachi and shifted them to an unknown place. When contacted, Hyderabad SSP Farrukh-ul-Najjar refused to confirm the police action.

The Matiari police had launched a crackdown on Sunday against those involved in running a social media campaign against Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar. On September 1, PPP MNA Makhdoom Jameel-uz-Zaman had issued a statement and stopped the followers of the Sarwari Jamaat from making statements and campaigning on social media. Sources said the houses of other close associates of Makhdoom Jameel-uz-Zaman were also raided, but they had already gone underground.

They said followers of the Sarwari Jamaat started a social media campaign against Home Minister Zia-ul-Hasan-ul-Najjar after his statement regarding the Makhdoom House. A few days ago, Lanjar, while talking to the media in Karachi, had said in response to questions that Makhdoom Jameel-uz-Zaman's statements do not reflect ground relalities, his son is a provincial minister himself and he and his sons should pray instead of doing politics.

Hyderabad DIG Tariq Dharejo and Matiari SSP Faisal Bashir were contacted several times, but there was no response from them to queries regarding the detention of four persons. A source of the Makhdoom House said that no statement has been issued on the detained persons yet.