Zulfiqar Mirza,Afaq meeting

TORN apart by ethnic and political strife, Karachi has long been a tinderbox that can be set ablaze by the smallest of sparks. There is no shortage of antagonists in this city and the latest round of allegations can trigger a deadly chain reaction. It has often been said that Karachi is more cosmopolitan than any other major city in Pakistan. A patchwork and quite resplendent quilt, if you will, that had been carefully and harmoniously crafted over time but began falling apart at the seams in the mid-`80s. Since then we have seen peaceful pauses that are almost inevitably destroyed by the most horrible violence imaginable. Mohajir versus Sindhi nationalists, the security operation against the MQM, a short-lived spell of `activism` by the Punjabi Pakhtun Ittehad and then the out-and-out conflict between the MQM and the ANP that has rocked the city in recent years. Now yet another inflammatory ingredient has been tossed into the pot. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which has parted ways with the Pakistan People`s Party, is clearly at loggerheads with the administration. Neither side has done itself any favours. Zulfiqar Mirza of the PPP seems bent on provocation. He almost boasted the other day that he met MQM-Haqiqi leader Afaq Ahmed, Muttahida`s primary foe, in jail. Is it becoming of a minister to have contact with a man who is, rightly or wrongly, accused of heinous crimes including murder? The government must act with greater restraint than its opponents. The MQM, for its part, has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging the government to take its pick: political negotiation or street combat. As messages go this one is quite clear, for it seems that both sides have taken polar positions that can only hurt the city further. The MQM`s statements come close to a threat of extreme violence. At the same time, the MQM ought to be asked whether a person like Aamir Khan, a former dissident who was until recently accused by the MQM of similar atrocities, should have been present at the press conference in which the Muttahida`s Anis Kaimkhani lambasted the PPP. Karachi has seen enough warfare and cannot afford another showdown. Too much blood has been spilled already, families devastated and livelihoods lost due to industrial shutdowns and a general fear factor that is crippling productivity. The numbers game cannot be played out in Sindh. The political situation here is far too complex than in other parts of the country and cannot be resolved without a joint effort. We need to learn how to live with ourselves. 

Ahmed noorani exposed PP on Zafar qureshi

Ahmed noorani exposed PP on Zafar qureshi

 

Ahmad Noorani
 

  The reported threats and the four options given by Interior Minister Rehman Malik to NICL scam investigator Zafar Qureshi resonated loudly in the Supreme Court on Thursday putting the PPP government in a precarious situation.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry told the government that the report in The News clearly speaks for itself and that it was true as the government till date is hell bent on not restoring Qureshi to carry out NICL scam investigations. The chief justice repeated that though the federal interior minister issued a clarification of The News story the newspaper had declared that it stood by its story.

Justice Iftikhar read out loudly The News story and narrated the four options which were reportedly offered to Zafar Qureshi that he should either (i) leave the country immediately; (ii) go on a long leave; (iii) tell the Supreme Court in writing that he cannot continue with NICL investigation for personal reasons; and (iv) if all the three were not possible then bail out Ch Moonis Elahi, son of Ch Pervaiz Elahi, the new coalition partner of the PPP government.

“If this story is untrue then why the government is not restoring Zafar Qureshi to probe the NICL scam,” the chief justice questioned Attorney General Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq and added: “Besides this story, the issue of political intervention was reported by six newspapers and all this issue needs a thorough probe and we have to make up our mind to appoint a judge of the high court to probe both these issues.”

The chief justice said that summoning an official appointed by the court for probing a mega corruption scandal and threatening and offering him such ridiculous options is a grave matter and needs thorough investigations. Meanwhile, during the course of the hearing, the chief justice said in categorical words that the government should note this point that Zafar Qureshi will continue the probe of the NICL scam till the completion of all investigations. “Whatever is his status he will continue till completion of all his work on this scam,” the CJ said, adding: “If he is suspended, he is alive and had physical existence, so we can order him to complete these investigations.” The governmentwas earlier planning not to allow Zafar Qureshi to carry out the NICL probe for the remaining period of his service as he retired in September but the latest observations of the CJ have closed all doors of this ill-motivated planning of the government.

While referring to media campaign against superior judiciary for release of Moonis Elahi, the chief justice said that this campaign has humiliated the judiciary and government has taken no action on this shameful act. “Now, there will be rule of law in this country or there will be ‘no rule of law’,” the chief justice said in an angry tone.

“Maulvi Sahib, at least you should have respected rule of law. Rule of law is there at your home. Your father was a respected jurist. After seeing this malicious advertisement on televisions vilifying the superior judiciary at least you should have written a letter to the president and prime minister that such a malicious campaign on media is a direct attack on the independence of judiciary but alas! You didn’t do so,” the chief justice observed while addressing the attorney general.

Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq replied that he will write a letter on this count on Thursday. “You have done this on my orders. You should have done this at your own. You are top most law officer of the country and you are responsible for ensuring the implementation on the orders of the Supreme Court,” said the chief justice.

The chief justice was so angry with the media campaign against the superior judiciary that he went on to saying that such a humiliating campaign was even not run during the hearing of the NRO case. He said that there were more that 5,000 prisoners in the Adiala Jail. “Whether they all should start vilification campaign against the judiciary that they were not being released,” he questioned the AG who stood speechless listening to the CJ.

The chief justice rejected in categorical terms the submission of post-dated cheques submitted by one party which would be en-cashed in next 4 to 5 years. “This is simply ridiculous. You have committed a fraud and now you talk of returning the money through these post-dated cheques. I know no one will pay afterwards,” the chief justice observed.

It is worth mentioning here that while the parties allegedly involved in looting and plundering of the NICL were claiming in public that all the money has been returned in the national exchequer, The News had unearthed the scandal on June 6, 2011, that in fact the looted money had not been returned and basically more than a dozen post-dated cheques had been deposited under very ambiguous conditions and that too payable till 2016.

Acting DG FIA Manzoor Ch told The News that all the four officials have been appointed back and they will work on the cases on which they were working earlier including the NICL scam.

Federal Interior Secretary Khawaja Siddiq Akbar when asked by this scribe in Court Room No 1 that who is the competent authority to suspend or reverse the suspension of a Grade-21 officer like Zafar Qureshi, replied: “Only the prime minister.”

The News despite its hectic efforts could not find out whether the prime minister has issued directives to restore Zafar Qureshi till 11:30 pm on Thursday night. Prime Minister Secretariat sources, however, hinted that the government will continue with its delaying tactics and will not restore Qureshi.

Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Shabbir Anwar replied to The News at 10:00 pm in the night that so far no action in this regard had come to his notice. “As the Chief Executive will take some action on the Zafar Qureshi issue the same will be brought to public notice immediately,” Shabbir said.

Dirty face of zerdari

The real article ( Karachi, Pakhtoons, Mohajirs and Zardari ) is written by Saleem Safi in Urdu in Jang newspaper. He is a well known journalist in Pakistan. The chairman of Pakhtoon Intellectual Jirga Mr. Ameer Hamza Marwat is a person full of life like a young man although he has finished half of his life. He is a knowledgeable, intellectual person has spent most of his political career shoulder to shoulder with the deceased chairman of ANP khan Abdul Wali khan. He resigned from ANP once the political ideology of ANP was changed in 1995. He was in the list of most trusted people of Khan Abdul Wali Khan. Wali Khan used his political services for Sind regional politics.  Last week he visited the office of Saleem Safi and shared past memories of Sind politics and some comparison of present condition of Sind. Ameer Hamza Marwat shared that after 1986 riots in Sind, Khan Abdul Wali Khan and Altaf Hussain (the founder and leader of MQM) were working hard to bring down the tension among Pakhtoon and Urdu speaking or mohajirs living in Sind. Abdul Wali Khan was trying to meet Altaf Hussian who was in jail at that time but Sind government was not allowing him to visit jail. During that time Hakim Ali Zardari father of Asif Ali Zardari was the senior vice president of ANP Sind and Alam Shah was the Provincial president of Sind. Wali Khan was suspecting that Hakim Ali Zardari was pandering the issue, therefore he was always asking for my (Ameer Hamza Marwat) services for the dialogue process with the leaders of MQM. During those days Hakim Ali Zardari used to say in privates parties that “two thieves (Pakhtoon and Mohajirs) are fighting on our (Sindhis) land, let them fight”. Wali Khan could never get the permission to meet Altaf Hussain but he came to Karachi to attend a gathering conducted by ANP. In the same gathering Hakim Ali Zardari used obscene and abusive language for MQM and tried to show his sympathy with Pakhtoons. But once Wali Khan came for the speech, he changed the tone of the gathering by delivering the speech in Urdu and said “Pakhtoons do not have any issue with Mohajirs. The jobs done by Pakhtoons cannot be done by Mohajirs and the jobs Mohajirs are doing can never be done by Pakhtoons. Both of them are not rivals but necessary force for each other, therefore there is no reason for them to fight.” Then he started his speech in Pashtu and said “we (Pakhtoon) did not come to Karachi for war and occupation but for work. Therefore maintain the peace with everyone living here”. This speech delivered a sign of peace in the city and MQM started dialogues with ANP and I was the one (Ameer Hamza Marwat) meeting Altaf Hussain constantly on behalf of ANP. Once the road to peace was clear then Afzal Khan Lala and Ghulam Ahmad Balour came in the peace process and Wali Khan visit 90 ( the head office of MQM). During the press conference Wali Khan was asked by journalists that if he accepts Mohajirs as fifth nationals of Pakistan? He said that he does not have any issue of accepting them as fifth nationals, and Altaf Hussain thanked him for this gesture. And that was the beginning of new era of the friendship between ANP and MQM.

According to Saleem Safi: when I was starting my career as a journalist, ANP and MQM were living peacefully in Karachi. I used to see MQM leaders in Peshawar in ANP gatherings and press conferences and some time at Ghulam Ahmad Balour’s place. Now I am thinking that what went wrong among two parties as I am seeing MQM and ANP clashing again with each other in Karachi? This question was answered to me in the meeting with Ameer Hamza Marwat. Now I understand that Asif Ali Zardari and his followers like Zulfiqar Mirza are the reasons that MQM and ANP are fighting in Karachi and innocent Pakhtoons and Mohajirs are losing their lives.  The whole conspiracy was unfolded in Islamabad where a breaking news was roaming around among political analysts. According to those political circles, few days back PML (Q) and PPP leaders were having a meeting in the presidential house. The meeting was conducting in Urdu and Punjabi languages. Once the condition of Karachi was discussed in the meeting, Asif Zardari said proudly in Sindhi to a senior minister who is Sindhi “do you agree to my politics or not that how I have tousled the Mohajirs and Pakhtoons in fight”.  President Zardari proudly speaks Punjabi and says that he has learnt Punjabi but he has forgotten one fact that some Punjabis have also learnt Sindhi too. Therefore a Punjabi speaking person who was present at that time understood and leaks the statement in the political circle of Islamabad.

According to Saleem Safi which I second that “Shahi Syed the president of ANP Sind does not use much of his brain in politics, but what is wrong with the educated people of MQM who are not understanding the dirty game of Asif Zardari.

Saleem Safi further wrote that those arrogant who cannot stop the criminals and killers in Karachi but can stop the unarmed reporters of Geo news. The level of bravery of those workers of PPP is on the height that they cannot say the name of the killers of their Leader Benazir Bhutto but they can snatch the badges and cameras from the reporters and journalists. The journalists and reporters are roaming on the streets of Karachi to Waziristan without any security and they don’t leave their houses without their guards and police in their government. A person cannot be honored as a brave by creating conflicts among two people but can be called as catilinarian. If someone wants to gain the title of bravery then instead of threatening the media persons give peace to the people of Karachi who belong to Sindhi, Urdu speaking and Pakhtoon backgrounds, rescue the interior Sind from dacoits and comfort the mothers of Balochs.

Zulfiqar Mirza spitting venom

“If Afaq Ahmed is a criminal, extortionist and a bad person and if he has robbed mothers of their children, then Altaf Hussain is a bigger criminal and extortionist by 100 times who has also robbed mothers of their children,” Mirza said while speaking to the media after a dinner at the ANP’s Mardan House here late on Wednesday night.

Showering praise on Afaq Ahmed, who is in jail and facing murder charges, the fire-breathing PPP leader said that the MQM-H leader was the biggest political prisoner after President Asif Ali Zardari as several cases were registered against him but no charges were proved.

He confirmed he had met Afaq not once but twice and would keep meeting him. He said former governor Dr Ishratul Ebad had tried to make him deny his meeting with Afaq but he told Ebad he had indeed met him.

“Afaq is the real leader of the Mohajir nation that speaks Urdu and the people of Karachi and Hyderabad should rise in revolt and get rid of the cursed [MQM leaders],” Mirza said, adding that he would continue fighting criminals and extortionists as long as he was alive.

He said Ebad had been a runaway Muttahida leader and facing murder charges when he was made governor and he had again fled the country. Mirza claimed that the MQM was regretting its decision to quit the PPP-led coalition government “on the wrong advice of its friends”.

Breathing fire over those demanding a separate province in Sindh, Mirza said no one could dare talk about dividing Sindh and said that these demands were coming from those who Sindh sheltered when they were helpless migrants decades ago. “They can only talk about separating Karachi from Sindh over ‘our’ dead bodies,” he declared.

The former home minister also revealed that it was he who had prisoners shifted from Karachi to interior Sindh. He said all those shifted from Karachi jails were convicts. The revelation would rub salt in the wounds of the MQM leadership, who has alleged that their workers have been shifted from Karachi jails to those in interior Sindh to punish the party for quitting the coalition.

The Muttahida took strong exception to Mirza’s allegations, with its leader Faisal Sabzwari threatening to expose the alleged corrupt practices of the PPP government. Talking to our sources, he said it was Asif Zardari who was “Mr 10 percent” and whose party was involved in corruption, and not Altaf Hussain who lived a simple life.

Sabzwari said that it was the same PPP that caused the break-up of the country in 1971. Mirza’s allegations led to tension in Karachi and Hyderabad and other parts of Sindh, where unknown persons resorted to aerial firing late on Wednesday night.

Shops, markets, petrol pumps, and hotels were closed amid intense firing. In Karachi, reports of firing came from the Old City Area, Nazimabad, Golimar, Federal B Area, Shah Faisal Colony, Ancholi, Liaquatabad, New Karachi, Korangi and other areas of the metropolis. A bus was also torched.

Meanwhile, President Asif Zardari and other senior leaders early on Thursday disowned Zulfiqar Mirza’s fiery speech against the MQM leadership, Geo reported.

Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, PPP Secretary-General Jahangir Badar and Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan described Mirza’s speech as his personal opinion and not a reflection of the PPP’s policy. The Presidential spokesperson said that the reconciliation policy would continue and the MQM had been asked to withdraw its resignations.

Zulfiqar Mirza apologize

According to the video statement released here on late Thursday, Zulfiqar Mirza said he issued the comments in his personal capacity and his remarks were not intended to harm the sentiments of any community.

The minister added that all the Urdu speaking people would remain his brothers.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned Zulfiqar Mirza to the federal capital. According to Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, Zulfiqar Mirza has been summoned to explain his recent statements against MQM Chief Altaf Hussain and the Urdu speaking community.

The Presidential spokesperson said that the PPP had already distanced itself from the statements made by Zulfiqar Mirza adding that party leadership had been directed to be responsible with their statements and it was imperative that Mirza’s statements be explained.

Meanwhile Interior Minister Rehman Malik welcomed the appeal given by MQM Chief Altaf Hussain to people across to country to remain peaceful and stop protests against the statements made by Zulfiqar Mirza. He said that Altaf Hussain showed maturity and calmed the emotions of the people.

The Muhajir Rabita Council had demanded that Zulfiqar Mirza and ANP Sindh President Shahi Sayed leave Karachi within 48 hours and stated that Mirza apologize to MQM Chief Altaf Hussain. Earlier on Thursday, a hand-written apology issued by the information department and peoples’ media cell claimed to be written by Zulfiqar Mirza was issued.

Earlier, a hand-written apology issued by the information department and peoples’ media cell stating that Senior Vice President of Pakistan Peoples’ Party Sindh Dr Zulfiqar Mirza has apologized over his remarks, our sources reported Thursday.

According to the statement, the statement given on Wednesday was based on personal opinion and he did not intend to hurt the sentiments of the people. Therefore, owing to the reaction by MQM, he said that he is apologizing if his remarks have hurt any one.

He said that Urdu speaking people are like his brothers and will always be. He said that they have also sacrificed at the time when Pakistan came into being and our ancestors gave them shelter at the time of migration. Since then, we are living like a family, statement added.

Statement issued by peoples’ media cell stated that Mirza’s remarks were personal and it has nothing to do with the party policy.

End.

Zulfiqar Miraz v/S anees advocate

Zulfiqar mirza has planned to attacked on 90 MQM head office through support from lyari gang mafia and afaq ahmed , aness advocate spoke to media and reveal that last night zulfiqar mirza meet with afaq ahmed in jail and planned the whole story, within days afaq will be released and in 1992 style some of the MQM offices even 90 will be attacked and captured a whole new episode of PPP , MQM conflict  SEE MORE IN VIDEO  above

Is there any Government??

"It feels absurd even talking of a government, if there's any, other than a group of few vultures screeching and siezing their share of power from each other". And it follows with a Clarion call to the slumbering nation in suspended animation, to wake up, to energize and force those demons out and fight for their rights. Nobody offers someone's rights on a silver platter. Those rights are either guaranteed by a Constitution reflecting the general will of the people or is commandeered. 


Zardari's PP is capable of going to any abysmal depths to seek vengeance. Their political differentials are being settled on the streets of Karachi. With ongoing conflict of interest between the ANP mafia and the MQM mafia to force their fiefdoms on lucrative Bhatta enterprise, and with the atmosphere charged with deadly consequences, the PPP govt merely had to signal their marauders to ignite the fire with the first salvo of arson and looting and the avalanche of hatred would initiate the domino action to catalyze the inferno. 


The enemies know jolly well that there exist mighty religious intolerance between Sunni and Shia and between the Pathan and the Mohajir mafia. One action of blighting Shia or Sunni sensitivity is enough to trigger wholesale bickering,bloodletting and bomb blasts. Similarly, one murder of an ANP activist is enough to open up the floodgates of revenge and spree of deaths of MQM activists. Is it not time to force a sense of brotherhood that Islam enjoins and explains that tribes, creeds and races merely exist for the ease of identification, and no more. Muslims are all Brothers in faith and are afforded a system of equality, justice and peace. We may have differences in views, but no malice for our brothers embracing differing viewpoint on the subject of governance or other political thought and practice. Some school of thought may prefer short term strategy to ease the pressure and the suffering yet others may have affinity for long term benefit that would provide a durable umbrella of convenience and comfort.


 Unfortunately, the Constitution of Pakistan falls short of declaring that the Sovereignty not only belongs to Allah, but that no legislation that contravenes the Islamic injunction would ever be validated. Herein lies the lacuna that is the mother of all mischief - mental, material and morality. Why should a govt make pariah of certain segment of its citizenry? Why should the Army undertake a campaign of cleansing without set objectives and operational plans? How long would a govt run on foreign directives or perilously exist on doles? In a war of existence for those persecuted tribe of the Western region, there is absolutely no motive of jihad. They are fighting their own Muslim brothers ( in the context of Pakistan only). 


Confine a cat and then attack it and the result is that the cat would fight for its life with all force she could command. Does the military not know that it is the Diversionary tactics of the ISAF to engage the Taliban stronghold in Pakistan to ease pressure on their own fighting units. Consistent Drone attacks are meant to exert maddening pressure on Taliban to intensify their retaliations to set them on a path of murderous revenge against Pakistan. Pakistan was forcefully inducted into the nefarious WoT and now efforts are afoot to seal a fate of perpetual regime of ravaging revenge and murderous mayhem for Pakistan for a long time to come.


these are the views of one of contributer,

Suspension of FIA’s Zafar Qureshi,Why?

Qureshi had evidence of foreign accounts

Suspension of FIA’s Zafar Qureshi has not only prevented the possible progress in NICL case but has also halted the suspended officer from pursuing an enquiry against his juniors for creating hurdles in his NICL probe, documents reveal. Zafar Qureshi wanted to proceed against the former DG FIA Waseem Ahmed for not cooperating and providing information about the foreign currency accounts of Moonis Elahi, received by the FIA headquarter from Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) UK, which delayed the process to reach its logical conclusion. These official documents available with The News, which include the recorded statements of four FIA officials and internal official correspondence between various officials of FIA, in addition to background interviews with FIA officials concerned, strongly suggest that if this pending enquiry had been completed, Qureshi would have charged these FIA officials formally. In such a scenario even the direct involvement of a powerful person in the interior ministry could have been made part of the official enquiry which would have created an most embarrassing situation for him as the contents of the statement recorded by one of the four FIA officials indicates his ultimate involvement for preventing smooth flow of information to the investigation team by conveying instructions to this effect to former DG FIA Waseem Ahmed, who has now been accommodated by appointing him as Additional Chief Secretary Sindh. “This could have resulted in many top FIA officials struggling to save their own skins instead of focusing their efforts to provide escape routes to Moonis Elahi as in such a situation all of them would have been running from pillar to post to get out of the clutches of the formal enquiry Qureshi was bent upon initiating against them,” commented a senior FIA official who was once associated with many mega scams. In this context, Zafar Qureshi lead team had recorded the statements of four FIA officials. Of them the statement of one FIA official, who was later thrown out of FIA, had spoken about the role of almost the entire chain of command sitting in Islamabad including the role of the powerful person in the interior ministry. The remaining three officials remained cautious not to utter a single word which could have been harmful for their superiors and could also hurt them. But despite their best efforts, the contents of these three officials also substantiate one thing i.e. “the unnecessary delay did, in fact, occur with fingers pointing at former DG FIA Waseem Ahmed.” For this purpose, Qureshi had even gone to the extent of issuing notices to former DG FIA Waseem Ahmed under 160 Cr.P.C to appear in person before the investigation team to explain as to why he (Waseem) kept this vital information about the foreign currency accounts of Moonis Elahi in UK with him for 21 days and why he did not provide the same to his investigations team. DG Waseem did not turn up at all while Zafar Qureshi was shown the door. This aspect of withholding the SOCA report from the investigations team was brought to the notice for the first time by Mirza Sultan M Saleem, the former Director NCB/Interpol FIA headquarters, which maintained a close coordination with the mainstream international agencies like Interpol, Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) UK. In a written statement Mirza Sultan M Saleem stated that before his resignation DG FIA Waseem Ahmed had directed him (Mirza Saleem) “not to cooperate and provide information with regard to accounts of accused Moonis Elahi in UK.” After obtaining this statement from Mirza Sultan Saleem, Qureshi went ahead by recording the statements of three more officials including Director Capt (R) Usman Zakaria, Assistant Director Ahmed Ali Afani and Inspector Shaukat Nawaz whom Mirza Sultan had mentioned in his statement for either preventing the smooth flow of information or conveying the messages of the high ups suggesting to Mirza to seek prior approval from the high ups before sending any information to the investigation team or conveying that the bosses are not happy with this situation. Contrary to Mirza Saleem’s bold step, all these three officials, whose names had appeared in the recorded statement of Mirza Saleem one way or other, did not categorically hold any one of FIA officials nor the high ups responsible for creating hurdles in the provision of information. Instead their statements clearly seem to have avoided giving direct answers to specific questions posed by Zafar Qureshi’s team. The contents of the recorded statements of these officials also show they had adopted extra cautious approach, obviously in a bid not to invite the wrath of the high ups, and kept on skipping the questions and diverting the issue from the subject. However, their statements did show a somewhat veiled attempt raising doubts about the high ups, particularly former DG FIA Waseem Ahmed, without dropping a direct hint. Despite being cautious at the time of recording his statement Director FIA Usman Zakaria, who did not accept the onus of causing delay in the flow of information, pointed fingers towards the former DG FIA Waseem Ahmed by saying: “The said letter was not put up to me, as the fax is installed at DG’s office and probably the staff of DG kept it to themselves.” Capt Usman admitted that delay of 20/21 days had actually occurred by stating: “I received the letter on 25th February, however, when I enquired about the receipt record from PS to DG FIA, he informed me that the said letter of SOCA was received on 8th February”. In this way Capt Zakaria himself created doubts about the role of former DG FIA by stating that he received the letter on 25th February but SOCA’s letter was received by the DG FIA on 8th February with a delay of around 17 days. Similarly, Assistant Director Ahmed Ali Afani while absolving himself from creating any delay in passing the information to Lahore investigation team had also innocently mentioned the delay of over 21 days, contrary to what Capt Zakaria had stated to be around 17 days. He stated: “On 25th February, the PS to DG brought a faxed copy of SOCA’s letter to him. When enquired why the delay has been caused, Afani suggested to the investigation team to enquire the issue further as to when was the letter actually received by PS to DG FIA. While Afani was suggesting further enquiry to determine the responsibility of delay he, like Capt Zakaria, also made the role of DG office doubtful by stating: “If it was received on time at PS to DG office, the onus lies on them.” Likewise, Inspector Shaukat Nawaz had also told the investigation team: “DG Waseem Ahmed has shown tremendous amount of anger on Mirza Saleem for not consulting him before sending the letter to SOCA and he came to know of this development only when a private TV channel splashed the news in its bulletin. Sensing the gravity of the situation as Zafar Qureshi had started expanding his area of investigation former DG FIA Malik Iqbal stopped him from further pursuing the matter by expressing his displeasure to Zafar Qureshi and stating that “under the pretext of investigation, you have started inquiries about the conduct of FIA officers”. Despite the best efforts, The News could not manage to obtain the viewpoints of Capt Usman Zakaria and Ahmed Ali Afani. The cell phone of Capt Zakaria did not respond while this correspondent found cell phone of Ahmed Ali Afani switched off whenever a call was made on his number. However, a text message pertaining to this issue was also made to them on their cell number but in vain. Some days back, talking to The News, former DG FIA Waseem Ahmed had point blank refused to accept the onus of creating any hindrance in the smooth functioning of the investigations and had instead regretted that Zafar Qureshi did not take sufficient time to evaluate such statements of FIA officials before summoning him to appear before the investigation team which consists of rank of assistant directors and inspectors. While talking to The News, Inspector Shaukat Nawaz had earlier denied having any knowledge about this development, however, when pressed he came out with a simple answer: “Former DG FIA was justified in showing his anger since Mirza Saleem did not consult him before sending the letter to SOCA. After all Waseem was the DG.”

Karachi bleeding.......

KARACHI: Karachi continued to bleed on Thursday as at least 25 more people fell prey to political violence, raising the toll of last three days to 65.

Armed miscreants continued the bloodbath of innocent Karachiites in Orangi, Banaras, Qasba Colony, Katti Pehari, Baldia, Gulshan-e-Iqbal and other localities of the city. Targeted killers armed with sophisticated weapons opened firing on passenger buses in Banaras and Baldia areas, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than two dozen others.

At least 10 passengers were killed and 20 others injured when target killers opened firing on two buses near Banaras Flyover. The bodies and injured were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where emergency was declared.

Separately, three commuters were killed and another 10 injured when gunmen opened fire on a public transport bus on Metrovill SITE, in the limits of SITE police station.

SITE A-Section police said that, unidentified armed men opened the fire on public transport bus near at Khaybar Chowk, Metrovill site. As a result three commuters were killed, the identification of deceased could not ascertained till filing this report, while 10 were injured including 19-year-old Ajaz, 45-year-old Arif, 33-year Zubair, 23-year Anwar, 27-year Kamran, Robin, 22-year Dilfraz, 30-year Ahmed, 35-year-old Jameel and 20-year-old Rozi. The bodies and injured were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH).

The areas of Orangi, Qasba and Katti Pahari echoed with heavy firing, suspending routine life.

Incidents of firing were also reported from several others areas including Gulistan-e-Johar, Baldia, Sakhi Hassan, Anda More and New Karachi.

Police and ambulance sources said at least 25 people were gunned down in Thursday mayhem, while dozens others injured. The affected areas wore a deserted look. Petrol pumps and gas stations in majority of city localities went closed and public transport off the road.

Police and law enforcers beefed up patrolling in the affected areas, however, the aerial firing was still on till filing this report.

MQM announce "Black Day" on Karachi Killing

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), announced that its members in Sindh Assembly (MPAs), will stage a protest march against recent violence in Karachi, from Karachi Press Club to Sindh Chief Minister's House here, on July 8. This was announced by member Rabita Committee, Raza Haroon in a press briefing to media personnel at MQM's headquarters in Azizabad here Thursday. He made this announcement after a joint meeting of MQM Rabita Committee held simultaneously in London and Pakistan. Raza Haroon said staging peaceful protest is our democratic right and we intend to pursue policy of peace. He said we express sympathy and absolute solidarity with affectees of recent violent incidents that took place in Orangi town, Qasba Colony, Gulfamabad and other areas in the city. Buses fired upon, killing ten people  The wave of violence continued for the third consecutive day in the metropolis. In the latest development buses were fired upon near Banaras Bridge, killing ten people and injuring twenty others, hospital sources said. Earlier on Thursday, at least nine including a five-year old girl were killed due to firing in several areas. It was on Tuesday when the wave of violence began in the city and firing incidents were reported in Orangi Town, Hassan Square and Sher Shah. Clashes which erupted between two groups have now engulfed several parts of the city. The wave of violence has paralysed life in Orangi Town, Aligarh Colony, Qasba Colony, Bukhari Colony, Muslimabad, Kati Pahari, Baldia Town, Rashidabad and other adjoining areas. The exchange of fire between the two groups continues despite patrolling by Rangers and Police.

Karachi Killing field

At least 49 people were killed in Pakistan's biggest city of Karachi on Thursday in a third consecutive day of bitter violence blamed on political and ethnic tensions, officials said.

Pakistani policemen stand guard in a deserted street in a western neighbourhood affected by the political violence in Karachi. At least 49 people were killed in Pakistan's biggest city of Karachi on Thursday in a third consecutive day of bitter violence blamed on political and ethnic tensions, officials said.

In the worst incident at least 10 passengers were killed late Thursday and 20 injured when armed men attacked two buses in a neighbourhood in the west of the city.

"Unknown armed men intercepted two buses on a road in Banaras Chowk neighbourhood and shot indiscriminately on the passengers, killing at least 10 and wounding 20 others," provincial home ministry official, Sharfuddin Memon, told AFP.

He said identity of the attackers -- who escaped via the narrow lanes of the neighbourhood after the assault -- was not immediately known.

A security official also confirmed the incident and casualties.

The dead bodies were taken to a local hospital, where scores of people had arrived to identify their relations.

Ambulances had been racing through the city's troubled areas all day, ferrying bodies and the injured to hospitals.

Earlier officials said a third straight day of violence had killed nearly 40 people not including the bus attacks.

The killings have been blamed on loyalists of former coalition partners the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP), which represent different ethnic communities and straddle volatile political fault-lines.

They underscore deep insecurity in the country's economic hub, which is used by NATO to ship supplies to Afghanistan. The city is also plagued by sectarian killings, crime and kidnappings.

A security official said several neighbourhoods remained tense and gunfire could be heard as the sun set.

Local residents complained they were virtually confined to their homes because of indiscriminate firing.

"Many people here had run out of their food stocks. There is no milk for children and no chance of patients being shifted to hospitals for treatment," said Mohammad Asghar, a schoolteacher in the Orangi area.

"We are left at the mercy of trigger-happy scoundrels and the security forces are conspicuous by their absence," he added.

The MQM announced its parliamentarians would rally on Friday to protest against the Karachi killings.

"Our supporters are being killed to punish us for quitting the ruling coalition," MQM leader Raza Haroon said.

"We have decided that our parliamentarians would hold peaceful rallies in Karachi and Islamabad on Friday."

Local Express TV channel said its reporting staff survived after their van was fired on the way back from interviewing a family affected by the violence.

"Our staff survived a dangerous attack," said a TV spokesman.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan says 490 people have been killed in targeted killings so far this year, compared to 748 in 2010 and 272 in 2009.

This week it blamed the government, led by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of President Asif Ali Zardari, for failing to stop the killings.

The MQM recently quit the PPP-led coalitions that rule both Sindh, where Karachi is the capital, and the federal government. ANP is still a partner.

Karachi Killing-HRCP Report

A selection of the HRCP data on killings in Karachi from January to July 2011. Some variables have been left out as the numbers were relatively lower. The total is 450.

KARACHI: The Sindh chapter of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Tuesday expressed grave concerns over deteriorating law and order in Karachi, particularly the rising trend of target killings.

Statistics compiled by the HRCP Karachi chapter shows that a total of 1138 people have been killed in the city during the first half of 2011, with 490 of them falling prey to targeted killings on different grounds including political, sectarian and ethnic basis.

“Karachi has been under the influence of political parties for the past several months and continuous surge in killings in the city reflects the government’s inefficiency to cope with the mounting threat of insecurity,” said Zohra Yusuf, Chairperson HRCP while sharing statistics during the press briefing at their office.

For appeasing the ruling coalition partners, she noted, the government had failed to take any decisive action against culprits causing unrest in the city.

Of the 490 victims of target killings, 150 were killed apparently for their association with various political, religious and or nationalist parties, 56 for their ethnic background and eight on sectarian grounds.

According to the HRCP report, as many as 65 women were killed during first six months of this year – 24 of them were killed by relatives, 26 by unidentified culprits, four were set on fire, three killed on railway tracks, 2 each killed by robbers and Lyari gangsters, three on the pretext of Karo-Kari, while one woman was killed by police. Meanwhile 37 men lost their lives in the ongoing Lyari gang war this year.

The report listed 56 ethnic killings which were reported this year. Of those targeted, 51 of the victims were male, while one female and four children were killed.

The figure shows that 250 people with no political affiliation were also killed in Karachi this year while 139 killings were reported during the corresponding period of last year. This indicated a rise of 179% in the killings this year.

The report detailed names of parties (political, religious, nationalist and banned organizations) or groups and the number of their activists assassinated during the first six months of 2011.

It said 77 target killing victims belonged to Muttahida Qaumi Movement; 26 to Pakistan People`s Party; 29 to Awami National Party; 16 to Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi; 7 to Sunni Tehreek; 9 to Jamaat-e-Ahl-e-Sunnat; two to Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam; one to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N); one to Jamaat-i-Islami (JI); one  each to PML-Functional,  Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, and Punjabi-Pakhtun Ittehad  and four to Sipah-e-Sahaba (banned).

During the first six months of 2010, the figures were comparatively low as MQM-H had their 34 activists killed; MQM 22; PPP 11; PPP-S 2; Punjabi Front 1; ANP 16; Sunni Tehreek 4; PML-N 1; PML-Quaid-i-Azam 1; PML-F 1; JI 3; Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam 2; JSQM 2; PPI 1; Sipah-i-Sahaba (banned) 3; and Tehreek-i-Taliban (banned) 1.

According to HRCP data, 113 people were killed on personal enmity last year while this year the figure mounted to 123.

Forty-one policemen were killed during the first six months this year, while 32 policemen had been gunned down last year.

In bomb blasts, 41 men were killed this year and 27 people between January and June 2010.

Stray bullets claimed 8 lives this year as compared to 19 last year.

Thirty-four people were killed in police encounters this year, three men died in jails, while four men were bumped off by police this year. Four persons died in jails between January and June 2011 while nine prisoners had died last year.

Total 30 children were killed in different incidents this year so far. Thirty-two bodies were found, with three of them identified as drug addicts.

Zohra identified Lyari and Orangi as the worst affected areas in Karachi and said police officials seemed helpless in reducing the crime ratio.

She raised doubts over statements given by Interior Minister Rehman Malik wherein he had claimed the menace of killings in Karachi would soon come to a halt. “It is an unrealistic claim in the present circumstances,” she opined.