Lyari is going to turn into Dhaka since we are being treated like the Mukti Bahini of the 1971 Bangladesh, said People’s Amn Committee leader Uzair Baloch during a press conference at the office of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Wednesday.
Baloch said that when the Pakistan Rangers-Sindh conducted the operation on the instructions of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)-backed Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, it spread a smile on the faces of the MQM leaders.
“The government’s ally party is killing Baloch youngsters and the operation is being conducted against the people of Lyari. The law enforcement agencies (LEAs) are treating us like the Mukti Bahini,” he said. “The government should stop these types of activities against the Baloch or else there would be more bloodshed, and the LEAs would face a strong reaction in Lyari,” he warned.
“Our people want to live in peace. If any search operation is conducted in Lyari, we shall cooperate with the LEAs, but no operation on the instructions of the government’s allied party will be accepted,” he added.
He claimed that 46 Baloch youngsters had been killed in the past week, including four in Baldia Town, seven in PIB Colony, five in Korangi and one in Chakra Goth.
“However, the government seems reluctant to conduct operations in these areas since they are under the control of their allied party,” he added.
After the press conference, PPP South Zone General Secretary Zafar Baloch told the media personnel, “We are being pushed to the wall and our youngsters are being killed. If any mishap occurs in the area, only the governor and interior minister will be responsible.”
He demanded the US and British governments to ban the MQM and its chief Altaf Hussain after declaring them as terrorists.
According to him, recovering five gunny-bag bodies of Baloch youths is part of an MQM conspiracy so that the way could be paved for operation in Lyari on the pretext of gang war.
He lamented the media’s “discrimination”, saying that police constable Sajid Baloch was abducted from Baldia Town the previous day and later released by the efforts of MQM MPA Muhammad Hanif Sheikh, but the media did not cover the incident.
He alleged that MQM’s Burns Road sector is fully active in the killings of Baloch youths and “MQM’s terrorists” were also involved in the Chakra Goth tragedy.
He said that “MQM’s terrorists” arrested from Nazimabad – Rafique, Shah Nawaz and Naeem Mustafa – had admitted during interrogation that they had kidnapped and killed Baloch youths of Lyari, whereas dozens of youths are still missing.
He claimed that industrialists are winding up their businesses from Karachi just because of “terrorism and extortion by the MQM”.
Responding to a question, he said that there is no need to call the army in the city because the local LEAs can control the law and order situation on their own, but there is a need of political will to do this.
He said that the people of Lyari are willing to cooperate with the LEAs in maintaining law and order in the metropolis.
Responding to another question, he said that the interior minister’s regular visits to Karachi give the negative impression that the Sindh government is incompetent and make people believe Malik is involved in the killings.
‘Lyari ain’t Dhaka and Baloch no Mukti Bahini’
