KARACHI, Jan 6: Various organizations, condemning the widespread looting during the turmoil that followed the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, have demanded that those people that were affected be compensated and steps be ensured so that such incidents did not reoccur.
In separate statements issued on Sunday, traders’ bodies, political parties and civil society organizations condemned the authorities for their failure in taking timely action and said that the law-enforcement personnel could not be seen anywhere while the criminal elements were on a looting spree. They said that the damage could have been minimized if the law-enforcers had immediately been deployed after the murder of the People’s Party chief.
A statement issued by the Qaumi Tajir Ittehad Pakistan demanded that all the goods that have been looted be recovered and returned to the owners, officials be appointed at the town levels to survey and record the properties damaged and burnt and compensation be paid immediately.
It further demanded that to ensure transparency, representatives of the business community be included at the decision-making level while it should be ensured that timely actions are taken in future in such situations. It also demanded that a schedule for load-shedding of electricity and gas be prepared after consulting the traders’ bodies.
Complaint cells
A meeting of the Pakhtun Action Committee (Loya Jirga) announcing that various complaint cells have been set up in various city areas including Keamari, Baldia, Site, former districts East, Central, South, Malir and Sohrab Goth. It urged the victims of looting to submit their statements including claims, copies of FIRs, ownership proof etc., so that a comprehensive report could be prepared and the matter could be taken up with the authorities concerned.
The PAC meeting, held at Mardan House on Sunday, also held the government responsible for the looting as it did not take precautionary steps after the assassination of Ms Bhutto in Rawalpindi. Fateha was also offered for the late leader.
A number of people submitted on Sunday details of their losses and damage to their property at complaint cells established by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Karachi and other cities of the province.
According to a press release issued here, a large number of people visited the MQM complaint cells for the fourth consecutive day and informed the party leaders about their losses. The MQM leaders assured them that the party would take every possible measure to secure compensation for the affected persons.
‘Creating confusion’
Anjuman Naujawanan-i-Islam, condemning the government for issuing conflicting statements about the murder of Ms Bhutto, said that such a strategy had been adopted to create confusion and hide the facts. It also condemned various politicians who, for personal gains, were issuing statements to create divisions among the nation on the basis of ethnicity and sectarianism.
It also criticised the government for withdrawing security guards from religious leaders and demanded that considering Muharram was close, foolproof security arrangements be made for the safety of religious leaders so that no untoward incident took place.
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