MQM-H chief Afaq Ahmed freed from jail

After more than seven years behind bars, Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi MQM-H) Chairman Afaq Ahmed was finally released on Saturday.
On Friday, the Sindh High Court (SHC) had ordered the government to immediately release the imprisoned political leader, declaring the order of his detention under a public order ordinance against the law. Ahmed had been granted bail in the last of the cases registered against him by the SHC. The MQM-Haqiqi is a breakaway faction of the then Altaf Hussain-led Mohajir Qaumi Movement (now Muttahida Qaumi Movement). The Haqiqi activists were still not sure about their leader’s release, but when the Sindh Home Department issued a notification of releasing Ahmed on Saturday afternoon, a large number of activists arrived outside the Karachi Central Prison to greet their leader on his release.
After completing the necessary formalities for his release, Ahmed came out from the prison’s building under strict security, as the crowd shouted slogans. More than 200 security personnel in 22 police vans, six Rangers vehicles and five private cars were reportedly part of the security convoy. Former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza had sent a bullet proof vehicle to carry the Haqiqi chief safely to his intended destination. Once Ahmed boarded the black land cruiser, it was surrounded by the vehicles of security forces. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) East Zone Akram Naeem Abro headed the convoy accompanying Ahmed, as the entire district east police force was deployed for security, police said. According to the DIG Prisons, the MQM-H chairman’s security was handed over to Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) while the regional police would also provide him security. The Haqiqi chief first went to the Sherpao Colony in Landhi, where he offered prayers for his party’s slain activists buried at the Shuhada Qabirstan before going to his residence in Landhi No 6.