KARACHI: A leader of the banned Ahle Sunnat Waljamaat (ASWJ) and the head of a Shia organisation were among several people apprehended by law enforcers on Sunday following the resurgence in targeted killings linked with sectarianism, which claimed 13 lives in the city within a week.

Arrested former PPP senator Faisal Raza Abidi was remanded in judicial custody amid protests by people who alleged that Rangers personnel had desecrated holy texts during a search operation at an Imambargah, a charge denied by the paramilitary force.

Personnel of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and police conducted a search operation at the ASWJ headquarter near Nagan Chowrangi and detained ASWJ’s Karachi secretary general Allama Taj Mohammed Hanafi, said an ASWJ spokesperson.

There was no word from the paramilitary force about his detention. The relevant New Karachi police officer also expressed ignorance about the incident.

Earlier, in the small hours of Sunday morning, personnel of law enforcement agencies apprehended Allama Mirza Yusuf Husain, head of the All Pakistan Shia Action Committee and former leader of the Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), police and party officials said.

He was picked up from his residence attached to Jamia Masjid Noor-i-Iman, where he was prayer leader, in Nazimabad.

Confirming the detention of Allama Mirza Yusuf Husain, Nazimabad SHO Faizul Hasan told Dawn that there were at least 16 cases against the Shia cleric and his name was also included in the 4th Schedule.

‘LJ hitman held’

Meanwhile, the law enforcers conducted ‘combing and search operations’ in different parts of the city and detained several persons for interrogation, according to officials.

“Hafiz Umer, affiliated with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has been arrested by the Rizvia police during an early Sunday morning raid,” said Central SSP Muqaddas Haider.

Originally hailing from Muzaffargarh in Punjab, the held suspect got training from Afghanistan with the help of Qari Shakeel and had been a member of the banned Tehreek Taliban Pakistan’s Mohmand group.

“In Karachi, he has been actively involved with LJ’s Asif Chhotu group and took part in several killings,” said the SSP.

He was involved in the killing of Dr Abid Hussain near his clinic in Surjani Town in 2011. He also killed a shopkeeper, Ali Dad, in Khwaja Ajmair Nagri in 2013. He had also killed a driver of a private school in the same area on sectarian ground.

Reactions

The MWM held a protest demonstration on Sunday evening on M.A. Jinnah Road near Numaish Chowrangi against the arrest of ex-senator Faisal Raza Abidi and Maulana Mirza Yusuf Husain.

The protesters carried banners urging the government to arrest culprits involved in the killings of five people, including three brothers, in a gun attack outside a Nazimabad house, where a majlis for women was in progress on Oct 29.

The MWM central deputy secretary general, Syed Nasir Sheerazi, Sunni Ittehad Council chief Sahibzada Hamid Raza and Mustafa Abidi, a brother of Faisal Abidi, at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club said that if the former senator, Mirza Yusuf and others were not released soon, they would hold a countrywide protest.

An MWM leader, Ahmed Iqbal Rizvi, in a statement criticised the detention of Mirza Yusuf Husain and said that “killing of the mourners and detentions of Shia leaders are a conspiracy to frustrate the Karachi operation.”

He said that on late Saturday night two mourners were attacked by armed pillion riders near the Suparco offices while they were returning from a majlis in New Rizvia Society in a car, in which Kamran Kazmi was killed.

“So far, 14 mourners have lost their lives in terrorist attacks in the metropolis since the beginning of Muharram,” said the MWM leader.

ASWJ president Allama Aurangzeb Farooqui criticised the detention of Allama Taj Mohammed Hanafi and said that the detained leader was a candidate of the party for the by-election on NA-258 in Malir, scheduled to be held on Nov 24.

“Unjustified detention of Hanafi shows that the PPP-led government feared defeat of its candidate in the by-poll,” he said.

Speaking at an ‘emergent meeting’ about targeted killings of ‘six ASWJ workers and supporters’ on Friday in three separate incidents, Allama Farooqi warned that ‘unjustified’ detention of their leaders would lead to ‘lawlessness’. He alleged that his party leaders were being detained under ‘pressure’.

Abidi sent to prison

The Sachal police on Sunday registered a case against former senator Faisal Raza Abidi on charges of possessing an unlicensed sub-machine gun. Later he was remanded in judicial custody till Nov 19.

A senior police officer told Dawn that around five weapons were seized from Mr Abidi’s home in New Rizvia Society during a joint raid by police and Rangers on late Friday night. Of them, the SMG was without a licence.

Therefore, the Sachal police registered an FIR (572/2016) against Mr Abidi under Section 23 (i) (whoever acquires, possesses, carries or controls any firearm or ammunition in infringement of section 3, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to fourteen years and with fine;) of the Sindh Arms Act.

Later on, the police presented him before the judicial magistrate, Malir, who sent him in judicial custody till Nov 19.

Protest

A number of people on Sunday protested against alleged ‘desecration’ of religious texts during a search operation in Shah Najaf Imambargah in Rizvia Society, a charge denied by Pakistan Rangers (Sindh).

A paramilitary force spokesperson termed photos being shared on social media by ‘miscreants’ as contrary to facts. The motive for spreading such photos was “to create hindrances in the operation”.

“The Rangers tended to pay due respect to the sanctity of mosque, Imambargah and seminaries during search operations about presence of miscreants there,” said the Rangers statement.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2016