The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the formation of a commission in order to determine the legality of the Karachi operation.
The court issued the order during the hearing of a petition filed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) pertaining to killings of 12 party workers allegedly by law enforcers.
During the hearing, a medico-legal officer submitted a report before the bench which stated that MQM workers were tortured before being killed.
Subsequently, the court ordered that a commission be formed to determine the legality of Karachi operation.
It also ordered for the inclusion of Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and Rangers Director General Major General Rizwan Akhter in the commission.
Activists and supporters of the MQM hold regular protests against what they call the forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings of its party workers. They have claimed that law enforcers in plainclothes pick up MQM workers and subject them to brutal torture. They have also alleged that in some cases the perpetrators killed their workers and dumped their bodies on the outskirts of the city.
The ongoing operation in Karachi was initiated in September 2013 under a directive issued by the federal government against criminals already identified by federal, military and civilian agencies in view of the declining law and order situation.
