KARACHI, June 26: The all-parties conference held under the auspices of Jamaat-i-Islami, Sindh, here on Sunday has demanded dismissal of the Sindh governor and government and setting up of a caretaker government with the task of restoring peace across the province and holding free, fair and transparent election for local government.

The APC, held in Quba Auditorium, was chaired by Senator Prof Ghafoor Ahmad and participated by Prof N. D. Khan of PPP, Mamnoon Hussain of PML-N, Zain Ansari of ARD, Maulana Abdul Karim Abid of JUI-F, Maulana Asadullah Bhutto of JI, Allama Hasan Turabi of Tehrik-i-Islami, Hafiz Mohammad Taqi of MMA, Shahid Ghauri of ST, Zubair Khan of Tehrik-i-Insaaf and Khan Amanullah Khan of PML-Q, besides leaders of Sindh-based nationalist parties Rasool Bux Palejo, Dr Quadir Magsi, Qamar Bhatti and others.

Calling for a purge in police force of the elements loyal to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and demanding Sindh’s due share in water and a judicious distribution of resources through the NFC, the APC called for granting autonomy to provinces in accordance with the constitution. It also opposed bifurcation of districts ‘on ethnic basis’, and stressed the need for effective measures against tribal clashes and lawlessness in the interior of Sindh and rehabilitation of affected families.

The conference, in a communiqué issued after the deliberations, demanded arrest of the killers of Mufti Attiqur Rehman, Mufti Irshad, Mufti Shamzai, Munawwar Suhrawardi, Abdullah Murad, Mufti Jameel, Aslam Mujahid, Tahir Jamal and other political and religious leaders, activists and workers. It called for entering in the FIRs the names of those accused by the concerned bereaved families of the victims.

It strongly condemned the killings of political and religious figures in Karachi and other parts of the province and also criticized shifting of polling stations and posting of officers which, it said, was a move to ensure desired results in the coming local bodies elections.

The APC took serious note of the statement, made by a minister belonging to an ‘ethnic party’ in the Sindh coalition on the floor of the provincial assembly that “we have made complete arrangements to see same type of people in the provincial government and city government.” It said this statement spoke volumes about the government’s designs.

The APC observed that the Sindh government had miserably failed in fulfilling its duty of protecting life and property of citizens as assassination of political and religious leaders one after the other in broad day light was a clear evidence of the fact.

It declared that after proving its failure in fulfilling this prime responsibility, the government had now no right to rule over the province. Not only the killers of any political and religious figures could not be arrested, even the nominated accused had not been brought to book despite passage of so many months in most of the cases, it deplored.

The APC communiqué lamented that gangs of dacoits in the interior and extortionists in the urban areas of Sindh had made the life of people miserable and this had created sense of insecurity in the entire population. “The government, instead of taking remedial measures, has been protecting criminals and terrorists by patronizing them directly from the Governor’s House, and transportation of arms in official vehicles belonging to MQM ministers is a glaring example.”

In its bid to avert its defeat in the upcoming local government election, a certain group enjoying the government’s patronage was plotting bloodshed for hijacking public opinion and create fear and panic in Karachi, it alleged, and vowed to frustrate all such attempts by the group. It resolved that such elements would not be allowed to escape justice.

Meanwhile, the Jamaat-i-Islami, Sindh, has expressed concern over killing of Mufti Attiqur Rehman, Aslam Mujahid, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, Ferhan Asif, Munawwar Suhrawardi and workers of Sunni Tehrik in terrorist attacks.

At a meeting of the its Shoora held here at Quba Auditorium with Dr Mumtaz Ali Memon in the chair, the JI condemned the authorities for not allowing lodging of FIRs of the killings. It also deplored violent incidents in Karachi and government’s failure in getting arrested those involved in killings, violence and plunder in the city.