Pakistan’s largest city came to a standstill on Wednesday after security personnel raided the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) headquarters here in a pre-dawn swoop, prompting protests by party workers across the country. A MQM party worker was shot dead while several other party workers including a member of MQM’s central coordination cell were detained during the raid, conducted by the Rangers, a paramilitary force.
The Rangers and the MQM share a thorny relationship and while the MQM had accused the Rangers of involvement in extra-judicial killings of its members, the Rangers had last month implicated the party in the Baldia Town factory inferno fire that claimed the lives of at least 258 factory workers. Colonel Tahir of Rangers told media that the operation was launched at about 5.00 am and continued for two hours. “About 15 people have been taken into custody and prohibited weapons were recovered. We also found weapons stolen from NATO containers taking shipments from Karachi port to Afghanistan,” he said.
“The arms that were seized during today’s raid include many whose import is banned in Pakistan,” a Rangers spokesman said, adding, several “hardened criminals and target killers” had been detained during the raid, including Faisal ‘Mota’ who had been awarded a death sentence for involvement in the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babar.