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| June 5, 2005 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 27, 1426 |
Jam Saqi’s wife held on kidnapping charges
HYDERABAD, June 4: A heavy contingent of police from Karachi led by Inspector Chaudhry Shaukat conducted a raid on the house of human rights activist Comrade Jam Saqi on Saturday and arrested his wife, Akhtar Sultana. Inquiries conducted by Dawn revealed that a man, Shakeel Naich, had registered a case at the Eidgah police station a few days back, accusing Jam Saqi and his wife of kidnapping his minor son and demanding a ransom of Rs500,000 for his release.
The Eidgah police made an entry at the Qasimabad police station and raided the house of Comrade Jam Saqi to arrest him and his wife.
Mr Saqi was not present and police whisked away Akhtar Sultana and Jam Saqi’s nephew Imtiaz who was later set free at the Qasimabad police station.
Mrs Jam was taken away by the Eidgah police to Karachi.
Close relatives of Jam Saqi told Dawn that seven years back a Karachi-based journalist of a Sindhi newspaper, Shakeel Naich, had married sister-in-law of Jam Saqi and a son was born out of the wedlock.
Later, Shakeel divorced Jam’s sister-in-law and remarried.
Mr Jam’s sister-in-law also remarried but she retained the custody of her son from her first marriage.
They said the raid at Jam’s house was aimed at the recovery of the Shakeel’s son.
Comrade Jam Saqi, who has gone underground was contacted on telephone through a source, who said all his life, he fought against class system and human rights violations and it was a cruel joke to implicate him in false cases of kidnapping and possessing explosive substance.
“Yes I am a human rights activist and all my life I have fought against class system and for the cause of downtrodden masses but I am no kidnapper or saboteur”, Mr Jam Saqi angrily said.
He said no amount of harassment or intimidation could deter him from his mission.
“I know I have stepped on powerful toes but nothing can stop me from my struggle against the class system and human rights violations” he said.
It may be recalled that it is the second raid on the house of Jam Saqi just within one week.
He was arrested on the night of May 29 in an explosive substance case.
On the next day he was produced in the anti-terrorism court and remanded in police custody for seven days.
He was set free by the Market police on personal bond under section 497 (2) CrPC for deficient evidence.
On the next day his house was raided but he was not found present. The Police claimed that they had gone there to record Jam’s statement.
HRCP sources told Dawn that a petition was being drafted to move the Sindh High Court against the police highhandedness.
PROTEST: Activists of about half a dozen NGOs including HRCP, Sindh Awami Forum, Sindh Development Society, Bhandar Hari Sangat and Samaji Taraqiati Tanzeem staged a protest demonstration outside the press club against the police raid on the house of Comrade Jam Saqi and the arrest of his wife, Akhtar Sultana.
Speaking on the occasion, Wahab Pandhrani, Zaibunnisa Mallah, Ghaffar Mali, Rehana Channar and Mehboob Abro criticized the arrest of Jam Saqi’s wife and a reign of harassment unleashed against the veteran leader.
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