Rangers, police patrol around Nine Zero

Karachi
Several vehicles of Sindh Rangers, carrying paramilitary personnel in complete combat gear, along with those of the city police marched around Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s headquarter Nine-Zero in Azizabad on Wednesday morning.
However, they did not make any more arrests.
Although Sindh Rangers did not officially informed the media about the purpose of patrolling around Nine-Zero but sources said Rangers’ personnel were observed filming the streets and roads around the MQM headquarters, especially the barriers and barricades.
Following a surprise raid at Nine Zero earlier this month, during which the paramilitary force had claimed to have arrested several target killers and recover a huge cache of foreign weapons, the MQM had removed the barriers and barricades leading to its offices on the directives of Rangers officials.
Sources said after the removal of barriers and barricades from the streets leading to its offices, the party had written a letter to the Sindh Rangers, expressing their reservations about their security and had sought protection claiming that their offices and leaders were the targets of banned militant outfits.
The arrival of Rangers’ vehicles on Wednesday morning was first perceived as another raid to remove the remaining barriers and barricades from streets and roads leading to Nine Zero but the Rangers officials disappointed all such hopes and left the area without taking any action.
An official of the district Central police claimed that Rangers had visited Azizabad to review the security arrangements at MQM’s offices. He said during the visit of the paramilitary force, party’s office bearers had also met officials of the paramilitary force and apprised them of their concerns.
On the other hand, a crackdown on illegal security barriers and barricades in the city has been launched after expiration of the three-day deadline given by DG Sindh Rangers, who had asked citizens to voluntarily remove all illegal barriers, gates and barricades within 72 hours.
So far, private security apparatus has been removed from areas in Defence, Clifton, Jamshed Road, North Nazimabad and Landhi. There were also reports that people were approaching Rangers’ officials by calling on its helpline 1101 and lodging complaints regarding illegal blockades of roads and streets.

MQM questions operation
The MQM said people of Karachi talk about the impartiality of the Rangers’ operation as road barriers especially in front of the offices of other political parties were still present despite expiry of deadline.
The MQM’s Coordination Committee maintained that the Rangers had said the barriers would be removed from all over the city and the paramilitary force would conduct raid on other political parties’ offices too to arrest criminals.