Rangers raid hit MQM’s militant wing

ISLAMABAD: The recent Rangers’ raid on MQM’s headquarter Nine-Zero is said to have seriously dented the alleged militant wing of the political party as the initial interrogations reveal that those arrested include head of the Muttahida’s militant wing and a set of most dangerous target killers associated with the party.
Informed sources confided to The News here on Friday that the ammunition seized from Nine-Zero include US and German weapon together with a M4 rifle that is clearly embossed “Property of the US government” and lots of bullets used by Nato.
These sources claim that the MQM leader Amir Khan, arrested during the raid, faces serious charges and alleged to have strong connection with the target killers and others, involved in heinous crimes, but arrested during the raid.
MQM leader Wasay Jalil when contacted strongly denied that the MQM ever had any militant wing. He spoke high of Amir Khan and dubbed him as patriotic and law abiding citizen. About the weapons recovered, Jalil said the party did own weapon but all the arms and ammunitions were licensed.
Inspector General Police Sindh Ghulam Jamali when contacted told this correspondent that amongst the arrested persons 27 have been handed over to police by Rangers. These 27 persons, he said, have been remanded to police by the court on Friday and now they are being interrogated.
Jamali said that another 26 persons, who are alleged to have been involved in serious crimes, are with Rangers following 90 days remand by the court.Security agencies sources said that around 110 persons were arrested by the Rangers during the raid and these include five alleged target killers, who according to sources have confessed to have killed nearly 150 persons. These alleged target killers include Faisal Mota, the convicted murderer of Geo News reporter Wali Khan Babar.
Security sources say that Faisal Mota has also been involved in several other heinous crimes. One Farhan Shabbir Ahmed is said to have killed more than 20 persons, Obaid alias K-II is accused to have killed nearly a dozen persons, Nadir Shah is alleged to have killed over 20 and one Amir alias Sir Phata is accused of killing more than 50 persons.
Around 25 to 26 other persons, arrested during the Nine-Zero raid, are also alleged to have been involved in heinous crime including killings, extortions etc.The security sources insist that as against the MQM MNAs and MPAs who generally are dubbed as the “soft face” of the party, those arrested from Nine-Zero are the alleged members of the party’s “militant wing”.
Regarding the weapons and ammunition recovered from Nine-Zero by Rangers, the sources said that it include American and German arms including one M4 rifle embossed as “Property of the US government”. It is said that American ammunition used by Nato is among the recovered items.
As against the MQM’s claim that it’s all licensed weapon, the security sources said that the recovered weapon include one Large Machine Gun, which is only used by the forces and not included in the category of licensed weapons. Besides a lot of automatic and prohibited weapons, guns with silencers were also recovered from Nine-Zero.
The security agencies sources second Rangers’ claim that the young man killed during the raid was not hit by the law enforcers but by a TT Pistol bullet. It is said that the Rangers do not carry TT Pistol (30 bore).
Wasay Jalil said that the MQM is facing the present like situation since 1992 but every time its position has been vindicated. He strongly denied that there is or has been any militant wing in the MQM, adding that Amir Khan is a clean person, a patriotic Pakistani and a law abiding citizen. Amir Khan, he said, is a member of party’s rabita committee.
Jalil said that the party as well as Amir Khan would prove their innocence in the court of law. Commenting on the five names of target killers mentioned by the Rangers spokesman on the day of the raid, Wasay Jalil said that except one he never heard of them. The one known to him, he said, was Nooruddin who is cook at Nine-Zero and has already been released.
Regarding the killing of MQM’s young man, Wasay Jalil said that the media footage would show that the Rangers were carrying pistol. He said that he does not know the make of those pistols but said that this issue could be settled by a judicial inquiry.
Wasay Jalil said that the MQM has no confrontation with the Army. He said instead it was Muttahida that had demanded the initiation of operation in Karachi to check target killing, terrorism, extortion and other serious crime.
Meanwhile MQM spokesman while talking to The News staffer Ahmad Noorani said that allegation against MQM of having a militant wing is false and baseless and thus Amir Khan’s being linked to it has no truth. He said that MQM’s response at times is mere retaliation and as a matter of fact it never remained involved in any militant activates.
He added the MQM respected army, rangers and all institutions of national security but there are few people who are trying to create differences between forth biggest political force of the country and its armed forces.
He said that many leaders including Bugtis and Mehmood Khan Achakzai used illegal weapons including LMGs and machineguns but nobody ever dare to ask them. “I am unaware of recovery of any LMG from 90,” Qamar added.
On the question of recovery of US weapons from 90, Qamar said that when Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar was DG Rangers Sindh, a similar statement was attributed to him but later he had come on record and had belied of stating any such thing. Even now, he said, USA has come on record to belie the statement of recovery of US weapons from 90 as no such weapons were ever transported to Karachi.
Qamar said that MQM has no target killer and all such claims reflect bias of certain vested interests against MQM and are part of a campaign against the party. “Neither any such claim was proved before a court of law in the past nor would be proved now,” Qamar added.