- Rangers arrest three men from Farooq Sattar’s neighbourhood with one of them confessing to 12 murders
- Sattar accuses Rangers of removing his security camp, raiding his neighbourhood to ‘demonise’ him
- Rangers spokesman denies Sattar’s allegations, says ‘hue and cry being raised to protect criminals’
A man arrested by Rangers near Muttahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) Rabita Committee Deputy Convener Farooq Sattar’s residence in Karachi’s PIB Colony has confessed to committing 12 murders, including those of three policemen, while Sattar has raised questions about the authenticity of this claim.
Rangers arrested three men including Shamshad, who had been “earlier identified by Sattar as an active member of the party”.
The Rangers’ statement identifies the man as Shamshad Ali and maintains that the man is linked to a political party as a “right-hand man” of a party leader. It accuses him of leading a target killing ring that has killed 35 people on his orders.
The statement says that the scope of the investigation would be expanded to include leaders of political parties, who have allegedly received proceeds from extortion and other illegal activities carried out by Shamshad.
MQM leaders and workers rushed to the area after receiving the information about the Rangers’ move while the party members also staged a walk-out from National Assembly over the alleged raid on Sattar’s residence. Moreover, party workers and leaders also staged protests outside Karachi Press Club.
SATTAR TERMS ARREST AN ATTEMPT TO DEMONISE HIM:
Speaking to journalists, Sattar said that he was not aware of the motive behind the Rangers’ operation. He further said that an MQM worker and his neighbour were arrested by the Rangers during the operation while his licensed weapon was also seized.
“We are saddened over the move as we have always supported targeted operation in Karachi. I called Rangers director general but was unable to contact him,” Sattar said, adding that Rangers had left him “vulnerable”.
Sattar said that Rangers’ statement on Shamshad’s confession seemed to be “a move to demonise him”.
“The confession of 12 murders within 12 hours of interrogation raises questions. Why have they [Rangers] issued a statement about this confession? Could they not have stated instead that an investigation is underway? This is an attempt to make him look like a demon,” he said, adding that if any individual has to be investigated, the probe should be carried out in a clear manner instead of harassing residents and guards.
“They are just trying to justify an illegal measure,” Sattar said, reiterating his earlier agitation of his security camp being removed and ransacked by the Rangers.
“What did Shamshad’s arrest have to do with my security guards?” he asked.
The senior MQM leader said that if the raid was conducted on the basis of the Pakistan Protection Act (PPA) then the arrested suspects should be declared as “terrorists”. He also questioned as to why the security forces went to different houses even after Shamshad’s arrest.
RANGERS CLARIFY:
However, Rangers spokesman Major Sibtain Rizvi denied the allegation, saying that “hue and cry over the operation was being raised to protect the criminals”.
The rangers spokesman said the operation was conducted two streets away from the residence of Sattar who blamed Rangers for removing a “security camp” outside his house and arresting three people.
The spokesman vowed to continue operations against the criminals without yielding to any pressure tactics.