KARACHI, May 11: The Jafria Alliance Pakistan (JAP), reacting strongly to the raids for the alleged arrest of the youths belonging to the Jafria community, has given the government a 72-hour ultimatum to stop the crackdown and take the alliance into confidence on the issue.
The JAP reserved the right to protest against the victimisation if the government failed to meet the deadline, JAP chief Senator Allama Abbas Kumaili told a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday. Allama Hussain Masooudi, Allama Akram Tirmizi, Allama Furqan Haider Abidi, Jawad Naqvi and other JAP leaders were present on the occasion.
Allama Kumaili also warned of stiff resistance if any agency personnel tried to enter the house of a Jafria family without a search warrant.
He made mention of the Millat-i-Jafria’s sacrifices during the Pakistan Movement and the financial support it had extended to the country in its initial stage, and expressed his regret that despite all these contributions, the doctors, engineers, politicians, scholars, ulema and government functionaries belonging to the community, as well as its mosques and Imambargahs, had been targeted by terrorists over the past three decades. He alleged that the terrorists appeared to have been trained under the patronage of government agencies.
He pointed out that in the last two months, three Zakreen had been killed in Punjab and their killers had not been arrested yet. Now the government agencies were after the youths of this community, he deplored, adding that the uncalled for crackdown had been launched at the behest of a foreign embassy.
Senator Kumaili said that the illegal arrests being made in a kidnapping style had become a daily routine as armed people in civvies, riding about a dozen vehicles, would trample over the sanctity of chadar and chardeewari of the families belonging to the Shia community and misbehave with the womenfolk and elders.
He said it was a matter of regret that neither the provincial home minister nor the DIG, CCPO or any other police official was prepared to accept responsibility for the illegal raids. He told journalists that the Sindh government maintained that the raids were being conducted by the federal agencies while the latter would not admit having resorted to the action.
Allama Kumaili pointed out that over past three weeks, at least eight Shia youths -- Nayyer Zaidi, Abid Zaidi, Qamar Abbas, Sajid Hussain, Nasir Hussain, Ghulam Abbas, Ali Haider and Agha Hasan Raza -- and a Sunni youth, Mohammad Ali, had been arrested.
“Their family members are deeply concerned as on the one hand, whereabouts of the arrested youth are not disclosed and, on the other, the families are made to hear cries of their loved ones on phone.” He said that the aggrieved families had approached judiciary through telegrams and petitions to seek some relief but there was no response so far.
He appealed to journalists and human rights organizations to play their due role in the matter.
He also appealed to the president, prime minister, chief justice of Pakistan, Sindh governor and chief minister, and corps commander Karachi to intervene and order a halt to the “state-sponsored atrocities on the Millat-i-Jafria.
In reply to a question, Allama Kumaili said it was immaterial of his being an MQM Senator as his prime responsibility lied with his community.
