KARACHI, Aug 11: The eight-hour parole granted to Afaq Ahmed, the imprisoned chief of the Muhajir Quami Movement-Haqiqi, to attend the funeral of his father on Sunday evening was a nerve-racking experience for the residents of Landhi No 5 and neighbouring localities.

Tension gripped the entire area in the wake of Mr Ahmed’s visit to his home. A heavy contingent of police escorted him from the central prison in an armoured personnel carrier to his home in Landhi No 5.

An area resident said that prior to the arrival of the MQM-H chief a flurry of activity was witnessed in the area as unknown persons started manning some pickets. “There was a widely circulated rumour that Haqiqi might make an ‘entry’ into the area on Sunday evening,” the resident said requesting anonymity.

Landhi police had also deployed personnel at the rooftops and beefed up security at the mosque where the funeral was supposed to be held.

The police, anticipating security fears, took the APC up to the door of Mr Ahmed’s residence in a narrow street. At this stage, unidentified persons were found passing on information about the policemen present on the spot by reading out their name tags and every little move of the Haqiqi chief, telling the person at other end of the phone that he had entered the house, a police official told Dawn.

Carrying pistols appeared to be a norm in the area, a resident said, adding that cellphone cameras and handy digital cameras were used by the unidentified persons to picture each and every person present there. In addition, there was a visible presence of intelligence personnel.

Afaq Ahmed was later taken to Masjid-i-Qudusi, close to his house, in the same armoured personnel carrier. This time the vehicle was taken inside the mosque where special arrangements had been made by the area police for the purpose.

Almost all the persons who lined up for the prayers were frisked in advance by activists of the Muhajir Quami Movement. Simultaneously, filming and photography continued outside the mosque by the unknown persons. When asked about their identity by some media men, they said they were from a police station or some cable television network but avoided to make any further comment.

By the incessant filming of every person inside and outside the mosque, it appeared that they were taking their job very seriously, a police official remarked.

As soon as the funeral prayer was over, the police hurriedly took Mr Ahmed to the APC parked inside the mosque, turning down his repeated requests that he be allowed to visit the graveyard where his father was to be laid to rest.

The moment he was taken away in the APC the party activists, who were maintaining his security, hurriedly boarded a five-door jeep and sped behind the police cavalcade.

Landhi was believed to be a stronghold of the Muhajir Quami Movement and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement used to describe it as a no-go area.

The jailed chief of the Muhajir Quami Movement-Haqiqi, Afaq Ahmed, was paroled to attend the funeral of his father, who passed away after a protracted illness. The government released him on a temporary parole on his family’s request to enable him to attend the funeral.

He was arrested in April 2004 in an operation launched against his party. Since his arrest, this was his first visit to his Landhi residence though he visited the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases for a medical check-up sometime back.