The loved ones of the imprisoned Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) activists staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday against shifting the party workers to jails in interior Sindh. Holding MQM flags, the families of the detained party activists demanded the government to stop political victimisation and shift the imprisoned MQM workers back to the jails in Karachi.
They alleged that their loved ones are being brutally tortured in Sindh’s jails just because they belong to the MQM.
Holding placards inscribed with anti-government slogans, they alleged that they were not being allowed to see their children. “We were living in peace that our children were safe in the jails of Karachi, but now we can not sleep as we have no idea of their whereabouts. For God’s sake, forgive us and our children,” they said.
They demanded President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to look into the matter and take steps for early return of their children to the jails of Karachi. In a press briefing held at the Kingri House on Sunday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had claimed that targeted killing in the metropolis was being controlled from inside the jails of Karachi.
He had also claimed that laptops and mobile phones are being recovered from prisoners in jails, and he had expressed fear that targeted killings might be controlled by these criminals. He had also hinted at operations in the jails of Karachi, and the same night, 70 prisoners were shifted to the jails in interior Sindh. Besides this, the wards of criminals involved in targeted killings and other serious crimes were changed.
The jail authorities were asked to stop the criminals inside the jails from using mobile phones and keep a vigilant eye over the visitors who meet high-profile criminals. At least 70 MQM activists and supporters were shifted to jails in interior Sindh overnight on Sunday. They were shifted to the jails of Sukkur, Larkana, Dadu, Nawabshah and Hyderabad. Saulat Mirza, Shahbaz, Nadir Shah and other renowned prisoners were among the 70 inmates who were shifted to jails in interior Sindh.
MQM activists Saulat Mirza and Nadir Shah were transferred to Hyderabad and Sukkur jails, and Lyari’s gangster Arshad was shifted to the Gadani jail. MQM Coordination Committee has strongly condemned torture on and transfer of its imprisoned party activists to interior Sindh. A statement issued by the Coordination Committee alleged that the Sindh Jails Minister was making MQM workers victim of political revenge on the directives of Senior Sindh Minister Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza. They alleged that MQM was being punished for quitting the government.
The MQM appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the Sindh High Court Chief Justice and human rights activists for taking steps to stop abuse of its detained workers at the hands of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Mirza. PPP Karachi Division President Najmi Alam has strongly rejected MQM’s claims of political victimisation. “Shifting prisoners to different jails within a province is a routine matter, but I have no idea about the prisoners shifted to interior Sindh’s jails from Karachi’s jails,” he said, adding that he is sure that the prisoners were transfer over serious complaints.
