KARACHI – Eighty-one Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activists and sympathisers have been killed since January 2011, arising restlessness and concerns in the minds of MQM workers and people of Karachi about the unremitting acts of terrorism against the MQM, expressed the MQM Coordination Committee members in a press conference on Thursday.
Speaking at the press conference in Nine Zero, MQM leader Raza Haroon said that on Tuesday, armed terrorists had killed Mehmoodabad Sector workers Asif Ali, Muneer Ahmed and Muhammad Naeem. No serious efforts were made by the government to arrest the killers after such a serious act of terrorism, he added.
On Wednesday evening, terrorists belonging to land and drug mafia killed the workers of MQM Unit 125 Qasba Aligarh Sector namely 33-year-old Muhammad Habib, son of Muhammad Rafi, 23-year-old Muhammad Waqas, son of Muhammad Tariq, and 38-year-old Muhammad Zaheer, son of Muhammad Hanif at Al-Muhajir Chowk in Orangi Town while another activist Irfan Qureshi was seriously injured and is fighting for his life at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik and other authorities concerned were contacted immediately.
“We registered our protest on the incidents of killing of our activists and demanded action against the terrorists. We were assured of prompt action in order to stop such occurrences and arresting the killers,” said Haroon – also the Sindh Information Technology minister.
He added that armed persons in Mairajun Nabi Colony in No 10, Orangi Town had attacked the MQM workers, resulting in the death of Sarfaraz Ali, son of Abid Ali, and Raza, son of Muhammad Iqbal, who were standing outside their homes
In another incident on Wednesday, armed terrorists had seriously injured Shahbaz Qureshi, a senior activist of the MQM Maymar Sector, in the Scheme 33 area. Qureshi had succumbed to his injuries in a hospital later in the evening.
Haroon said that nine MQM activists and sympathisers have fallen victim to incidents of firing in the last 48 hours which is a big tragedy. Innocent workers of the MQM are being targeted by terrorists and 81 MQM workers or sympathisers have been killed since January 2011 in terrorism related incidents.
Haroon said: “We are grieved to say that despite the unabated killings of our activists, the federal and the provincial governments have done nothing and taken no serious steps for arresting the killers.”
“We feel that the new wave of killings of MQM workers and sympathisers by criminal elements, terrorists of gang war, land mafia and drug mafia is a continuation of the vile conspiracy to entangle the MQM in Karachi and to stop it from spreading throughout the country.
“We appeal that President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad and Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah take serious notice of the barbaric killings in various parts of Karachi.
“Firm steps should be taken to safeguard the life and property of the citizens and the protectors and patrons of merciless killers should be arrested and given exemplary punishment,” concluded Haroon.
