Friday, April 11, 2008, Rabi-ul-Sani 4,1429    

Karachi remains calm

Nasir Mahmood

Karachi—Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, has put the police as well as rangers on the alert and also directed that their patrolling be enhanced. His party knows well how to be tender and how to be stern to deal with the situation.

He has strongly deplored the acts of violence in the metropolis on Wednesday. Chairing an emergent high-level meeting in his Sindh Assembly Chambers to review the law and order situation, he directed the law enforcement agencies to keep a vigilant eye on miscreants and take foolproof steps so that such incidents do not recur.

People in Karachi stress that law and order should be maintained at every cost and protection must be provided to them. CM should personally monitor the situation. He has ordered immediate arrest of those responsible for the acts of violence. Qaim Ali Shah pointed out that no dereliction towards the maintenance of law and order would be tolerated.

He expressed deep sorrow and grief over the loss of lives and sympathized with the bereaved families. Karachi remained calm on Thursday after bloody rioting in the city which claimed 13 lives on Wednesday. Shopping centers and offices were opened in morning. Public transport was plying normal, all government and private sector offices functioning normally.

Tahir Plaza, a building opposite City Courts where chambers of lawyers are situated, was set ablaze with six persons including a woman inside having burnt alive. Seven more persons were killed in incidents of firing in the city. Out of eight bodies recovered from Tahir Plaza two were identified as Basit and Dawar Hasan.

More than 80 vehicles were burnt in the city by miscreants without any reason while over 17 buses and coaches were torched during violence only for show of power. Process for burning the vehicles was similar to as earlier witnessed on 18 October and 27 December 2007 by throwing gun powder which instantly burns the vehicle from top to bottom.

Sindh Home Secretary indicates that orders have been issued for the arrest of miscreants involved in violence and disturbances. Leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain from London has regretted deaths in incidents of violence in Karachi appealing the people to remain calm to foil designs of destroying the peace of the city.

The MQM chief expressed sympathy with the families of people died in the violence and prayed for early recovery of the injured. Enemies of Karachi in the name of protest over manhandling of the members of the MQM Legal Aid Committee by some miscreant lawyers, conspiring to destroy the peace of the city with violent acts, he said, condemned the violence and appealed the people to try in every possible way for maintenance of law and order in the city.

According to sources there are high-level contacts established to end PPP, Muttahida deadlock. After unpleasant incidents with two politicians in Karachi and Lahore and yesterday’s violence in Karachi high level contacts have been made between Pakistan People’s Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement to end the deadlock. The stalemate will come to an end within next 24 hours, sources said.

Sources said the leaders of two parties have made contacts at high level. The new chief minister of Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah has held detailed talks with the Governor of Sindh. A federal minister and close aide of PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari also held talks with the Governor.

On the other hand lawyers on Thursday continued to observe complete boycott of courts and staging protest rallies throughout the country to press for the restoration of the deposed judges. Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and Lahore Bar Association (LBA) appealed to lawyers to boycott the courts and participate in the rallies. The rallies were held on the call of the Pakistan Bar Council.

Meanwhile, in a major reshuffle after the new government took over, some 160 officials in FIA Karachi have been transferred. Their transfer orders were issued by Director FIA Karachi Mir Zubair. According to FIA sources most transfers have taken place in Immigration and Human