KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday ordered the removal of Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) South after an investigation report made public regarding the violence during Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) rally.
Several MQM-P workers, including women, were injured when police fired tear gas and resorted to baton-charge on their sit-in outside Chief Minister House against the recently passed controversial local government law on Jan 26.
According to the report, the chief minister ordered carrying out departmental action against SSP South Zubair Sheikh besides directing Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Sharjeel Kharal to submit his clarification.
Meanwhile, MQM-P Pakistan has lambasted the Sindh government and said responsible persons have not faced any action in the probe report on violence during the rally.
MQM leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that no action was taken against those who had ordered tear gas shelling and baton charge to the police. “The police was made a scapegoat to protect the Sindh government who had ordered police action,” he added.
The protest
On Jan 26, Karachi police resorted to tear gas shelling and baton-charge in an effort to disperse MQM-P protesters staging a sit-in outside the Sindh Chief Minister House against the recently passed local government law.
The protesters, including lawmakers, women and children, set out from FTC Roundabout on Sharea Faisal and eventually reached the CM House where they staged a sit-in.
South Zone DIG Sharjeel Kharal said that the party leadership had violated an “agreement” between the two that the protest would be restricted to the Karachi Press Club (KPC).
“They also blocked main Sharea Faisal at FTC for a considerable period of time causing a traffic jam. When they reached near Metropole hotel on Club Road, the MQM-P protestors allegedly attacked police with stones after officials tried to prevent them from holding a rally in the Red Zone,” he said.
The official said that the protesters moved towards the chief minister’s house in groups and staged a sit-in for an hour-and-a-half. The DIG said that he as well as the Karachi commissioner, Deputy commissioner South and SSP South held talks with the MQM-P leadership in an effort to get them to disperse but they refused to do so.
“Finally, police moved to clear the road as there were apprehensions of a security breach at the chief minister’s secretariat,” he said. “Police resorted to tear gas shelling and detained eight persons,” Kharal added.
The officer said that one MPA, identified as Sadaqat Hussain, was also among the detained persons as he allegedly attacked police and subsequently suffered “minor” injuries on the head. He was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for treatment.
