BBC News – Pakistan MQM’s Altaf Hussain attracts UK police interest

Thursday, 16 May 2013. Police in London say they are investigating complaints against a UK-based Pakistani politician to see if he has violated UK law.

Altaf Hussain, leader of the MQM party that controls Karachi, addressed supporters from London last Sunday after Pakistan’s general elections.

In response to accusations of electoral fraud, he is alleged to have threatened his accusers with violence.

Mr Hussain says that his remarks were taken out of context.

London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed to the BBC that an investigation had been launched “following complaints concerning comments made in a broadcast” by Mr Hussain.

Since the mid-1980s, the MQM has won every poll it has contested in Karachi and it did so again in last Saturday’s general election.

But this time, it is facing strong and widespread allegations of rigging and electoral fraud.

Half a dozen smaller parties, led by former international cricketer Imran Khan’s Movement for Justice Party (PTI), have been holding rallies and sit-ins to demand a re-run in Karachi.

On Sunday, addressing party workers from London, Mr Hussain responded to the allegations by appearing to threaten protesters with violence, and suggesting that if his party’s mandate was tampered with, Karachi would have no choice but to separate from Pakistan.

During his speech he referred to protests taking place near the Three Swords roundabout in Karachi.

“Those people who are protesting – and grandstanding – near Three Swords – I don’t want to fight or quarrel, but if I order my supporters now, they will go to Three Swords and turn them into a reality.”

He added: “MQM is blamed for everything. I say, oppose us with respect and decency, and with proof, otherwise I will soon unleash my supporters.”

Karachi is wracked with violence – much of it politically motivated.

Mr Hussain has since said that his remarks, which were broadcast on live TV, were taken out of context.

Possible prosecution

On Wednesday, the British High Commissioner in Pakistan, Adam Thomson, told a news conference that the UK took allegations of inciting hatred very seriously.

He said it was up to the police in London to determine whether Mr Hussain’s remarks violated British laws, and whether or not he could face prosecution.

The BBC’s Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi says that Mr Hussain effectively controls the city of 18 million people from his MQM headquarters in north London.

He has lived in the UK since 1991, saying his life would be at risk if he returned to Pakistan.

The MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement) is supported mainly by Muslim Urdu-speaking people whose families moved to Sindh province at the time of the partition of India in 1947.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22559282

Dawn – Shutdown in Karachi over twin blasts on MQM

Karachi, 5 May 2913. Businesses and petrol pumps in Karachi and other cities of Sindh were shut on Sunday (today) following a strike called by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) as twin bomb blasts outside their election office killed three people and left more than 30 injured on Saturday, DawnNews reported.

A bomb planted near a park where the MQM had set up its election office for its unit in Azizabad (Federal B. Area Block 8) went off around 9pm on Saturday, leaving at least 12 people injured. The blast caused panic and fear in the densely populated and highly guarded neighbourhood as a number of MQM activists, volunteers, personnel of law enforcement agencies and media crew rushed to the place.

About 20 minutes later, another explosion took place at almost the same place which was crowded by the party’s activists, volunteers and security personnel. Police said apparently the MQM election office was the target.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility of the attack. Speaking to Dawn.com via telephone from an undisclosed location, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said the target was MQM and both bombings were carried out through planted devices.

The MQM, however, has vowed to not bow down to the terrorists. Speaking to DawnNews, the party’s leader, Haider Abbas Rizvi said that MQM has been targeted by forces which do not wish to see it coming into power. “We will continue with our election campaign and no one can deter us from our fundamental right of partaking in polls,” he said.

“It’s sheer brutality,” MQM chief Altaf Hussain said. “Our morale is high and we will not surrender to the evil forces of extremism and terror. It’s so unfortunate that despite consistent attacks, no credible move has been witnessed against terrorists from the government, administration and security forces.”

The outlawed TTP has vowed to target the secular political parties of the country, naming Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP) and MQM in the run up to the coming general elections.

The historic May 11 polls will witness the first ever democratic transition of power in Pakistan.

http://beta.dawn.com/news/812158/shutdown-in-karachi-over-twin-blasts-on-mqm

BBC News – Musharraf returns to Pakistan despite threats

Sunday 24 March 2013. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has arrived back in Pakistan, ending four years of self-imposed exile and defying death threats.

A protection detail of heavily armed commandos met him after his plane from Dubai touched down in Karachi airport.

A mass rally in the city was cancelled.

General Musharraf plans to lead his party in the May general election.

Meanwhile, 17 soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber in the north-west of Pakistan overnight.

They were attacked at a security checkpoint in the tribal region of North Waziristan, close to the Afghan border and a known stronghold of the Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants.

A recent Taliban video threatened Gen Musharraf with snipers and suicide bombers.

He faces a string of charges including conspiracy to murder, but on Friday the Pakistani authorities granted him protective bail in several outstanding cases, freeing him from immediate arrest once he sets foot in Pakistan.

One of the charges is that he failed to provide adequate security for opposition leader Benazir Bhutto after she returned from exile in 2007.

Two deadly explosions, in which nearly 140 people died, greeted her arrival in Karachi on 19 October. She was killed that December at a rally in Rawalpindi.

‘Like a wedding party’

A few hundred supporters have gathered near the airport, the BBC’s Orla Guerin reports.

Earlier, the former leader, 69, tweeted a photo of himself aboard the plane, writing: “Settled in my seat on the plane to begin my journey home. Pakistan First!”

In Dubai, the smiling general told our correspondent the event felt like a wedding party.

A group of about 200 supporters and journalists saw off the former military ruler – including party members from the UK, Canada, Switzerland and the US.

Some of the general’s supporters wore white armbands saying they were ready to give their lives for him.

The planned mass rally in Karachi was called off because the authorities had withdrawn permission.

The former military leader has lived in London and Dubai since stepping down five years ago. He left Pakistan in 2009.

He has vowed to return several times in the past, but those previous attempts have been abandoned.

‘Tanker blaze’

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in North Waziristan, in which 34 soldiers were reportedly also injured.

A car packed with explosives blew up next to a pair of fuel tankers at the check post, intelligence officials told AP news agency on condition of anonymity.

The blast set the tankers on fire and nearby military living areas were destroyed, they said.

Janan Dawar, an eyewitness who lives about 14km (nine miles) away from the checkpoint, said he had heard a huge explosion and had seen flames leap into the air.

Three civilians were also injured.

It appears that most of the soldiers targeted had been working in road construction, part of the army’s strategy for winning hearts and minds locally.

At the scene

Orla Guerin, BBC News, Karachi

General Musharraf moved through the aisles of the plane – greeting supporters, shaking hands and having his photo taken to the bemusement of regular passengers.

There were chaotic scenes with journalists scrambling over seats as the journey became a mini campaign rally.

General Musharraf told the BBC he felt emotional about returning to Pakistan, but he said he had mixed feelings because of the risk to himself and his supporters.

When the plane landed, his supporters on board cheered and shouted “Long live Pervez Musharraf”.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21914946

Dawn – Civil society seeks arrest of Rahman’s killers

Karachi, 18 March 2013. Members of civil society organisations called for the immediate arrest of Parveen Rahman’s killers while demonstrating near the Quaid’s mausoleum on Sunday.

Ms Rahman, a renowned social worker, was killed on Wednesday in a targeted attack when she was returning from her office in Orangi.

The demonstration was jointly organised by the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP), Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP), and an environmental NGO Shehri. Participants in the demonstration demanded that the killers be caught, booked, tried and punished sternly, according to the law.

A few speakers also named a certain ethnic party and its local leaders, who they accused of extending death threats to Ms Rahman, and demanded that a thorough investigation be carried out into the murder.

The demonstrators said that many other social workers, whose work was affecting various mafias and power groups, were also receiving threats and demanded that protection be provided to them.

According to them, Ms Rahman had said that she had been working on land surrounding the city which was being encroached upon. They said Ms Rahman had probably come too close to the powerful mafia and land grabbers, who fearing exposure, had eventually silenced her. They said the social worker’s cold-blooded murder had shocked the entire civil society and demanded that the government take concrete steps to contain the prevailing sense of insecurity. However, the demonstrators vowed that they would continue their work despite threats for the empowerment of the poor and rule of law.

Paying tribute to the slain social worker, Prof Nauman Ahmed of the NED university said Ms Rahman’s organisation, the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), had been working at the grass-roots level to turn a major chunk of Orangi Town from a slum into an area with proper infrastructure.

Amber Alibhai of Shehri, an NGO, said that many other social workers, whose community improvement work was affecting various mafias and power groups, were also receiving threats and demanded protection for them.

Sikander Hayat of the PCATP, Mumtaz Jilani of the IAP and others also spoke on the occasion.

The demonstrators carried banners inscribed with their demands and also chanted slogans. A statement condemning Ms Rahman’s murder and demanding her killers’ arrest was also distributed among the participants.

http://dawn.com/2013/03/18/civil-society-seeks-arrest-of-rahmans-killers/

BBC News – Pakistan Karachi bomb blast kills dozens

Sunday 3 March 2013. At least 45 people have been killed by a bomb explosion in the Pakistani city of Karachi, police say.

The blast in the mainly Shia Muslim area of Abbas Town destroyed several buildings and set others on fire. Some reports spoke of a second explosion.

No group has yet said it planted the bomb, which went off near a mosque as worshippers left evening prayers.

Pakistan’s Shia minority are the target of frequent sectarian attacks from Sunni militant groups.

The explosion sent a huge column of smoke into the sky above Karachi and caused a power cut in part of the city.

Police are investigating whether it was a suicide attack.

Rescuers have been struggling to reach people trapped under the rubble.

Residents have been using car headlights to help the search for survivors, local media reports said.

Around 150 people were wounded by the explosion, officials said.

“I was watching television when I heard an explosion and my flat was badly shaken,” Karachi resident Mariam Bibi told Reuters news agency.

“I saw people burning to death and crying with pain. I saw children lying in pools of their own blood and women running around shouting for their children and loved ones.” she added.

Rescue work was delayed as some residents fired guns into the air in anger at the carnage, reports say.

Sectarian divide

Pakistan’s main political and religious leaders rushed to condemn the attack – the latest to target the Shia minority.

Nearly 200 people were killed in two separate bombings targeting the Shia community in the south-western city of Quetta in January and February.

Some relatives of the victims there initially refused to bury their dead in protest at what they said was the failure of the authorities to protect their community from attack.

No group has yet admitted to carrying out the Karachi bombing, but correspondents say suspicion is likely to fall on Sunni militant groups.

Groups such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi regard Shia Muslims as heretics and have stepped up attacks in recent years.

They are thought to have set several training camps for militants and police seizures have shown they have access to large quantities of weapons and explosives, the BBC’s M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says.

Some activists called 2012 the worst year in living memory for attacks on Pakistan’s Shia community.

But already this year bombings in the south-western of Quetta alone have killed nearly 200 people.

Last month Pakistan’s Supreme Court called on the authorities to devise a strategy to protect Shia Muslims more effectively, given the increase in attacks.

Karachi – Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial capital – has a long history of violence.

As well as a sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia, that city has also seen conflict between different ethnic communities – Pashtuns from north-west Pakistan, Mohajirs (immigrants from India following the Partition) and Sindhis.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21649412

BBC News – Karachi strike: Anger over sectarian violence

Friday, 8 February 2013. A strike called by religious groups to protest against a wave of sectarian violence has paralysed the Pakistani city of Karachi.

Schools and businesses were closed and there were isolated reports of gunfire and vehicles being set alight.

The Wifaqul Madaris and other religious parties called the strike to protest against the recent killing of clerics.

Last month a senior Sunni Muslim cleric from a high-profile Muslim seminary was killed in a targeted attack.

Abdul Majeed Deenpuri, 60, and two others were shot dead when a gunman opened fire on their car.

He was a leading figure of the strict Sunni Muslim institution, the Jamia Banuri Uloom Islamia. Police suspect it was a sectarian attack.

Reports say Sunni Muslim religious groups have been angered by the failure of police to apprehend any suspects in that case.

In the northern city of Peshawar a senior Shia Muslim lawyer was shot dead early on Friday. Malik Jarar Hussain had recently been nominated as a judge, reports say.

Lawyers in the city are also on strike and staging a sit-in outside the governor’s house to protest against recent killings.

Sectarian violence between extremist members of Pakistan’s majority Sunni and minority Shia communities has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people over the past 20 years.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21378679

BBC News – Karachi polio killings: Vaccination workers shot

Wednesday, 18 December 2012. Five female Pakistani polio vaccination workers have been fatally shot in a string of co-ordinated attacks – four within 20 minutes across Karachi.

The fifth woman was shot and wounded in the city of Peshawar in the north-west and later died of her injuries.

A UN-backed programme to eradicate polio – which is endemic in Pakistan – has been suspended in Karachi.

No group has said it carried out the shootings, but the Taliban have issued threats against the polio drive.

“These were pre-planned and co-ordinated attacks in various localities which took place within a span of 20 minutes,” Imran Javed, a police spokesman told the BBC of Tuesday’s attacks in Karachi.

Earlier reports said a male health worker had been shot dead in Karachi on Monday, but officials now say his death was not related to the polio vaccination drive.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has condemned the attacks and praised the work of the polio vaccination teams, calling on regional authorities to guarantee their safety, Pakistan’s APP news agency reported.

Pakistani health officials said the latest three-day nationwide anti-polio drive – during which an estimated 5.2 million polio drops were to be administered – had been suspended in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city with a population of 18 million.

There has been opposition to such immunisation drives in parts of Pakistan, particularly after a fake CIA hepatitis vaccination campaign helped to locate Osama Bin Laden in 2011.

Militants have kidnapped and killed foreign NGO workers in the past in an attempt to halt the immunisation drives, which they say are part of efforts to spy on them.

However, the Pakistani government “would continue to mount its effort on polio eradication,” Mr Ashraf’s special adviser Shahnaz Wazir Ali told the BBC.

Mrs Ali said protection would be provided to workers, and campaigns would be staggered if necessary.

“Clearly, we are now so close to eradicating the polio virus,… acts of this type, which are intended to dissuade us, will not deter us,” she said.

Along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio is still endemic.

Pakistan is considered the key battleground in the global fight against the disease, which attacks the nervous system and can cause permanent paralysis within hours of infection.

Almost 200 children were paralysed in the country in 2011 – the worst figures in 15 years.

Earlier this year, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative warned that tackling the disease had entered “emergency mode” after “explosive” outbreaks in countries previously free of polio.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said polio was at a tipping point, with experts fearing it could “come back with a vengeance” after large outbreaks in Africa and Tajikistan and China’s first recorded cases for more than a decade.

Declaring polio a national emergency, the Pakistani government is targeting 33 million children for vaccination with some 88,000 health workers delivering vaccination drops.

Dr Bruce Aylward of the WHO told the BBC that vaccination programmes had been suspended in other countries before but that “when you’re dealing with something as basic as the health of children, usually there can be common ground found”.

Dr Aylward said he hoped for a “dialogue with community leaders who have positions of power to ensure root causes of this are being addressed and the perpetrators are brought to justice”.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20767138

Dawn – The death of Ardeshir Cowasjee : The lion won’t roar again

Zubeida Mustafa

Karachi, 28 November 2012. In January 2012, I wrote about Ardeshir Cowasjee after he had announced that he was “winding down”. It was a sort of farewell to him in these pages though ARFC wrote two more ‘ad hoc’ articles in 2012.

But it was not the same as reading him every Sunday (or Friday, before 1997). Many readers had written to me asking if he could not be persuaded to continue writing.

On that occasion, Justice (retd) Majida Rizvi had vehemently stated, “My request to him is to roar again and again as in the past to keep all on their toes.”

They liked his writing and turned to the op-ed page of the paper to read him before they started their exercise of going through the grim reports the paper carries in these dreary times that seem to be there to stay in Pakistan.

He refused to be persuaded by his readers and last Saturday, Ardeshir Rustom Fakir Cowasjee (to borrow his style) decided to bid goodbye to them and all in this world that had provoked him into writing in the first place.

He had a big following. His punches, fearless honesty in identifying the wrongdoings and corruption of the politically powerful and the rich as well as his crisp style delighted those who made it a point never to miss out his columns though at times his writing became a headache for us who handled his copy in Dawn.

He objected very strongly to what he called our “self-censcissorship”. But for us there was always the sword of libel hanging over our head — or so we thought. But ultimately I learnt to my great relief that the veracity of what he wrote could not be challenged. He was willing to name names and got away with it because he was careful to tread on authentic ground and armed himself with relevant documents which protected him from legal action by those he attacked.

Loyal to his friends and very unforgiving to his enemies, he wrote mainly in the public interest, taking up causes which affected the common people. He had his weak spots no doubt. His “pathological” hatred of the PPP (as someone described it) was one of them. His family business had been nationalised by Z A Bhutto and so one could understand.

But that did not stop him from sending me a copy of Salmaan Taseer’s Bhutto: A Political Biography with a warm greeting inscribed in it when I called him up to tell him I had retired from Dawn. “Tum ab kiya karega?” (what will you be doing now?) he had asked with concern and the book was at my door within an hour.

No one generally grudged him for pursuing some subjects relentlessly. He would not let them go. For instance, Karachi, the city of his birth, was one of his pet themes. It pained him to see it being destroyed brick by brick as land was encroached upon by greedy developers and the land mafia. His firm and unquestioning support for the father of the nation and for Jinnah’s Pakistan (a euphemism for a secular state) also won him friends. He minced no words in chastising the leaders of religious parties who were often ridiculed much to their anger. He, however, got away with it.

His community — the Parsis — were showered with the praise they deserve because they are respected and their contribution to the civic life of this metropolis is unparalleled and is widely acknowledged and appreciated.

Much has been written and will be written about Cowasjee’s writings. As for himself he dismissed his columns as ones that were “read, may be digested and discarded”.

But he underestimated himself. His writing made an impact — thanks to him the Asghar Khan case in the Supreme Court against the ISI for funding some politicians before the 1990 elections was revived.

Today his columns constitute a valuable record for this country which has little concern for preserving history or documenting it. Hence credit goes to Tyaba Habib, of Sama, for showing the foresight to undertake the job of publishing his columns in a book Vintage Cowasjee. That should be the best tribute he could have received.

What, however, needs to be pointed out is that ARFC was as much a man of action as of (written) words. He was not much of a speaker, which he himself admitted. He not only wrote about many issues but also took action when it was needed. The case against the Glass Tower builder which Cowasjee fought in the Supreme Court and won has become legendary. He managed to have the extra structure built illegally on the encroached land, along the main Clifton Road, demolished under court orders.

What is more, as the chairperson of the Cowasjee Foundation he arranged generous donations for many projects for the benefit of the poor. One could go on recounting his acts of philanthropy for there are so many.

If he trusted you, he would promptly write a cheque for he knew his money would be used for a good cause. There are so many who will remember him for the helping hand he extended — the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation and The Citizens Foundation are two prominent beneficiaries of his generosity.

Sadly the lion will not roar again. Rest in peace Ardeshir, we will miss you.

The writer is a former op-ed editor of Dawn.

www.zubeidamustafa.com

http://dawn.com/2012/11/28/the-lion-wont-roar-again/

Dawn – Sindh High Court restrains authorities from demolishing Hindu temple

Karachi, 14 September 2012. The Sindh High Court on Friday restrained the Karachi Port Trust and other respondents from demolishing the structure of Shri Laxmi Narayan Mandir, a Hindu temple believed to have been constructed about 200 years ago at the Native Jetty Bridge.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam also appointed a Nazir of the court for inspection of the temple and directed him to submit his report after ascertaining the factual position of demolition and construction activity at the site within seven days.

The directions came on a constitutional petition filed by Kailash Wishram, a resident of the residential quarters on the temple premises, who impleaded the secretary of ports and shipping ministry, the chairman of the KPT, the SHO of the Jackson police station and a private  company that ran a food court under the Jinnah Bridge as respondents.

The petitioner represented by Advocate Zain A. Jatoi submitted that he was a practising Hindu of a caste that was not given equal status by other members of the Hindu community.

He said that the Narayan Mandir was constructed much before the partition of the subcontinent and for a long time Hindus performed their religious rituals at the temple where access to seawater was one of the essential things to perform worship.

According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, the temple was constructed about 200 years ago and the festival of Raksha Bandhan (Nariyal Puja), Ganesh Chaturthi, ie birthday of Shri Ganesh Deva, and every new moon night is celebrated there.

It is a sacred place for performing death rituals, funerals and other religious rituals at the sea.

The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the private company, an endeavour in collaboration with the KPT, had started some construction work blocking the access to the seawater from the temple. He said the construction would threaten their place of worship and so also the right of the minority community at large.

Responding to a court query, the petitioner submitted that the construction was being raised at the behest of Mukesh Chawala, provincial minister of excise and taxation and member of the Hindu Panchayat.

The petitioner was directed by the bench to include the name of the MPA in the list of the respondents.

The court ordered that the temple, its staircase, boundary wall and corridors originally constructed may not be demolished.

The bench directed its office to place the matter before a bench hearing the matter of construction and property and adjourned the hearing for 10 days.

http://dawn.com/2012/09/15/shc-restrains-authorities-from-demolishing-hindu-temple/

Dawn – Mumbai attack was run from Pakistan, India says

New Delhi, 30 June 2012. The leader of the Pakistan-based militant group India blames for the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks may have been present in a Pakistani “control room” where the attacks were coordinated, India said on Friday.

Indian authorities have long viewed Hafiz Saeed, founder of Lashkar-i-Taiba, as the mastermind of the attacks in which 166 people were killed.

In April the United States announced a $10 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

Although Islamabad did not react to the charges on Friday, it previously has rejected Indian allegations of any involvement and said it has acted against the members of Lashkar-i-Taiba accused of mounting the raid.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters that questioning of an Indian man suspected of helping plot the operation had revealed the existence of the control room and suggested it had state support.

“Yes, others were also present and we think one of them was Hafiz Saeed,” Chidambaram said when asked if the group’s founder had been in the room at the time.

Sayeed Zabiuddin Ansari, an alleged key plotter of the attacks, was arrested in New Delhi on June 21 as he arrived from Saudi Arabia.

The police have accused him of training the 10 militants who went on a rampage in India’s financial hub.

Ansari, who also went by the names Abu Hamza, Abu Jindal and Abu Jundal, was present in the “control room”, located in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, Indian newspapers, citing intelligence sources, said on Wednesday.

“His interrogations now prove beyond doubt the existence of such a control room,” Chidambaram said. “Such a control room could not have been established without some kind of a state support.”

The Mumbai attacks served to further strain the already fragile relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours, which have fought three wars in the past 65 years.

http://dawn.com/2012/06/30/mumbai-attack-was-run-from-pakistan-india-says/