All MQM office-bearers on Rangers’ list

• MQM says Rangers’ statement ‘admission’ that operation is not against criminals but MQM
• Invokes CJP, SHC CJ to take notice of Rangers statement
• Rangers spokesperson says MQM’s men being picked up because party’s ‘organisational committee’ is behind militant wing, claims workers’ surrendering on their own

Reiterating its claim that the operation against criminals in Karachi was mostly focused on the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), the party has said that the Rangers statement early on Sunday that all MQM sector and unit in-charges would be taken into custody had vindicated the party’s stance that only it was being targeted by the paramilitary force.

In a statement, MQM’s Rabita Committee said that the paramilitary force was admitting that the political party’s workers were being picked up, not because there was any information of their involvement in criminal activities or evidence against them, rather because they were members of MQM. “The Rangers was admitting that it was targeting MQM workers through a well thought out plan,” it added.

The Rangers spokesperson, in a statement released early on Sunday had stated that they will be targeting MQM’s organising committee since it “empowered the party’s militant wing”, and was singling out sector and unit in-charges for arrests.

“Is being a sector or unit in-charge of the MQM against the law?” the MQM questioned. The party’s statement added that the Rangers’ statement was in fact a formal announcement that it will arrest office bearers of the MQM.

“The state of Rangers’ intelligence is such that the ‘organising committee’ that they refer to (in their statement), does not even exist, nor does any other department work under that name. Such a section was dissolved a while ago,” the party asserts.

The Rabita committee argued as to why only the office bearers of the MQM were being detained when the Supreme Court had remarked that all political and religious parties of Karachi had militant wings.

The MQM claimed that the Rangers’ attempt at clarifying the unwarranted arrests of party workers served only to further “mislead the public”.

MQM’s statement added that the operation, which was supposed to be against criminals, was a pretext for the paramilitary force to target MQM. The party further claimed that an unannounced ban had been imposed on its political and charity-oriented activities.

“Operation against criminal elements is being used as an excuse to misuse state power to crush the MQM,” the statement read.

Moreover, the MQM also challenged the Rangers’ claim that detained party workers were granted all their rights, stating that the party’s workers were treated as “prisoners of war” when presented in courts. The party condemned the treatment meted out to their detained workers.

Further, it said that the Rangers’ claim of presenting all detainees in court was false since as many as 50 workers of the MQM, arrested by the paramilitary force, have been missing for months.

The Rabita Committee demanded that the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) and Sindh High Court (SHC) chief justice take notice of the Rangers’ statement.

Per the details of the statement earlier issued by Rangers, MQM’s organisational committee was organizing and running the affairs of its militant wing in Karachi.

A spokesperson for the Rangers said that “this was the reason behind the arrests of MQM sector and unit in charges in recent days”. He said that the on-going operation in Karachi was directed against none but criminals and extortionists and against militant wings of political and religious parties.

He said that that many MQM workers were surrendering and giving court arrests. The spokesperson further stated that all arrested suspects will be presented in courts while their basic rights were being taken care of during their detention.