‘Anti-MQM’ cop to grill city’s mayor-elect?

MQM slams handing over of Waseem Akhtar to SSP Rao Anwaar; will stage protest outside KPC on Friday against leaders’ arrest; SSP Anwaar denies

Akhtar given directly into his custody

Karachi

Waseem Akhtar, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader and the party’s nominated candidate for the Karachi mayor slot who was arrested after an anti-terrorism court refused to extend his bail, was sent to the Malir jail on Wednesday where he would be interrogated by SSP Rao Anwaar, a cop with a history of bad blood with the party.

The SSP will interrogate Akhtar in several cases. The permission for the transfer of custody was obtained from a court on behalf of the SSP himself who submitted that he needed to ascertain the charges of provocative speeches against Akhtar.

The SSP has been empowered in legal terms to interrogate Akhtar about his alleged connection with the Indian spy agency RAW.

Anwaar submitted that he wanted to find out as to whose instructions Akhtar was following when delivering the “provocative and inflammatory” speeches.

Akhtar, Rauf Siddiqui and other MQM leaders face charges of facilitating party chief Altaf Hussain in delivering provocative speeches.

These cases were registered in different police stations of the city. Some speeches were delivered against security institutions after Rangers had raided the MQM headquarters Nine-Zero and its adjoining areas on March 11 last year.

The MQM chief had later withdrawn his statements but some Rangers officers had registered cases against him and other party leaders. In some cases, MQM leaders were declared absconders by anti-terrorism courts.

A Pakistan People’s Party leader, Abdul Qadir Patel, who is a co-accused in a case against former federal minister Dr Asim Hussain, who faces charges of facilitating terrorists, was sent to the central prison on judicial remand.

Besides Akhtar, the court had also rejected the bail pleas of MQM leader Rauf Siddiqui, Pak Sarzameen Party’s Anis Qaimkhani, Patel. The three politicians face charges of facilitating the terrorists who were provided medical treatment at Dr Asim’s hospital.

Akhtar, Siddiqui and Qaimkhani were arrested when they left the courtroom on Tuesday while Patel himself went to the Boat Basin police station to surrender himself.

He was produced by the police before the ATC-II and was remanded to the prison on judicial remand.

The case against Dr Asim, Akhtar, Siddiqui, Qaimkhani, Patel, Usman Moazzam and others will come up before the court on August 3.

The court had ordered to detain the four leaders on judicial remand at the central prison till August 3.  However, the SSP Rao Anwaar was permitted to interrogate Akhtar in some cases involving his alleged RAW connections.

MQM condemns

The MQM coordination committee condemned the handing over of Akhtar to SSP Anwaar, describing the move as illegal.

Committee members Kunwar Naveed Jameel and Amir Khan while addressing a press conference said as per law when a person is in jail custody and judge was not present, they were again sent to judicial remand, but Akhtar had been handed over to Anwaar.

The committee announced that the MQM would stage a protest on Friday outside the Karachi Press Club against Akhtar and Siddiqui’s arrest.