KARACHI: Five more Muttahida Qaumi Movement offices were razed while a total of 196 ‘sector and unit’ offices in the city were sealed in a renewed crackdown on the party after the arrest of three suspected hitmen belonging to the “MQM London secretariat” and as many women activists on Friday for allegedly attacking media houses.

A source told Dawn that the record of MQM’s Khurshid Begum Memorial Secretariat in Azizabad — which was sealed with party’s Nine-Zero headquarters on Monday night — was also being looked into to find out whether the complex was constructed legally or it was also an encroachment on an amenity plot.

The MQM raised its voice against the demolition of its offices, but it ruled out any protest against the government action, explaining that it would follow a legal path. Also, the party announced on Friday that it would challenge the ‘snatching of its mandate’ in Karachi’s West district elections.

Equipped with heavy machinery, local administration backed by a heavy contingent of law enforcement agencies demolished the MQM offices mainly in Karachi’s East district.

A total of 10 offices had been bulldozed over the past two days, officials said, hinting that the sealed offices would also meet the same fate. They added that the action was being taken, because the MQM offices were constructed on encroached land.

Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Khwaja Izhar-ul-Hasan, however, told a TV channel that all the MQM offices sealed off by the law enforcers were not constructed illegally. He criticised the government for bulldozing party offices which were there for the past 30 years.

However, he showed restraint when he said that the MQM would not take to streets to protest against the move. “We will adopt a legal course and will take back our offices including Nine-Zero legally.”

New term for held suspects

Following Tuesday’s press conference by senior MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar in which he disowned the anti-Pakistan speech of party supremo Altaf Hussain, the Rangers introduced a new term to disclose political affiliation of those being arrested.

Previously, the paramilitary force branded such activists as the alleged hitmen of “the militant wing of a political party” and on some occasions it simply named the MQM. But after Tuesday’s split in the party, the paramilitary force said they arrested four suspects belonging to the “MQM London Secretariat”. On Friday, the Rangers claimed to have arrested three suspects — Rehan alias Chikna, Zubair alias Achhu and Javed — in Liaquatabad. The held suspects “belonged to the MQM London Secretariat” and illegal arms were also recovered from them, said a Rangers spokesperson.

Three women activists held

Police on Friday claimed to have arrested three women workers of the MQM for their alleged involvement in the Aug 22 attack on media houses in Saddar.

SSP Karachi-South (Investigations) Adeel Chandio told Dawn that the held suspects were identified as Sumera, who was arrested in Burnes Road, and Rabia Bibi and Quratul Ain Ainee, who were picked up in Defence. All the three were associated with the MQM, he added.

‘Rigging’ in DMC-West polls

The MQM condemned what it called rigging and snatching of its mandate in the election of the chairman of District Municipal Corporation-West and vowed to challenge the results at ‘every forum’.

Speaking at a press conference at the party’s temporary headquarters in PIB Colony on Friday, MQM coordination committee member Mohammad Hussain said that after the vote count on Aug 24, party candidate Izhar Ahmed Khan emerged victorious by securing 36 of the total 67 votes.

“During the counting, the presiding officer did not reject a single vote and the Form 11 contains no mention of it,” he said, adding: “But those in powers held the presiding officer hostage and at 2am they forced him to write that 21 ballot papers contained some marks,” said Mr Hussain.

He said the ballot papers were marked after the vote count. Legally, he said, the returning officers could not unseal the bags carrying ballot papers for rechecking.

“Despite our protest, they rechecked the vote and found that 24 ballot papers were marked. The RO was taking dictation from somewhere else and the winning candidate of the DMC-West was declared unsuccessful only because of the situation the MQM is facing these days,” he added.

He condemned the alleged rigging by those sitting in the government and said his party would challenge the result and also raise its voice against the “illegal and unconstitutional” act.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2016