JUI-F rally forces govt to transfer Soomro’s murder trial to military court

Sit-in on MA Jinnah Road causes traffic mess during rush hours

Karachi

After allowing the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) to stage a rally from Numaish Chowrangi that caused traffic chaos on MA Jinnah Road and several other busy arteries in business hub of the city on Thursday, the Sindh government accepted the religious party’s demand to transfer the murder case of its provincial secretary general, Dr Khalid Mehmood Soomro, to a military court.

Thousands of workers attended the rally on MA Jinnah Road, showing their anger at the provincial government for its failure to transfer Soomro’s murder trial to a military court and to “stop patronizing” his killers. 

The party also added a new demand — to form a committee to address the concerns of religious circles over the government’s recent proposed legislation for the registration of religious seminaries in the province.

The rally was led by JUI-F leaders, including Allama Rashid Soomro, Maulana Abdul Qayyum Haleejvi, Qari Muhammad Usman and Maulana Abdul Kareem Abid.  

The rally started from Numaish Chowrangi and, according to schedule, had to end at the Chief Minister House, where the party had planned to organize a sit-in. However, police did not allow them to move towards the CM House by blocking roads by placing containers and the rally’s participants staged a sit-in at Tiber Centre on MA Jinnah Road instead. 

The government sent a delegation comprising Barrister Murtaza Wahab, adviser to chief minister on law, and Dr Abdul Qayyum Soomro, former adviser of chief minister on religious affairs, to negotiate with the JUI-F leaders.

Wahab told media that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had given them directives to try Soomro’s murder case in a military court. “The Sindh government will write a letter to the federal interior ministry,” he said.  

After getting assurances from the government representatives, the JUI-F leadership announced an end to the rally and asked the party workers to disperse peacefully.

The JUI-F Sindh had announced the protest two months ago in a meeting in Karachi to press the government to fulfil its promise to solving the murder case and address the party’s concerns. However, no one from the government had consulted the party leadership.

To allay concerns about the registration of madrasas in the province, the government delegation also promised a committee, which would include representatives from religious parties.  

Traffic woes  

The rally and the sit-in caused massive traffic jams in the adjoining areas of MA Jinnah Road, including Saddar, Soldier Bazaar, Guru Mandir and Garden, making life miserable for commuters.

Because of the sit-in, MA Jinnah Road was closed for traffic, leaving  motorists and commuters in stuck for several hours.

Murder case

On November 29, 2014, Soomro, who was also a former member of the Senate, was shot dead at the Jamia Haqania seminary in Sukkur while he was leaving after offering Fajr prayers.

Police have arrested five suspects – Hanif Bhutto, Mushtaq Mehar, Sarang Chandio, Darya Khan Jamali and Altaf Jamali – after a case was registered at SITE Police Station in Sukkur.

The JUI-F had organised sit-ins on highways the Sind province on December 26 to hinder caravans moving towards Larkana for the December 27 death anniversary of slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto. Those sit-ins forced the government to sign with protesting leaders of the JUI-F a written undertaking that the government would send the Soomro murder case to a military court for trial up to January 7 after completing the codal formalities. In return, the JUI-F said it would not organise any sit-in until January 26.

Despite the passage of one and half years, the government did not fulfil its promise to arrest the culprits, party leaders told The News last week.