NAWABSHAH, Sept 10: Police picked up a number of religious leaders after a crackdown in the city on Wednesday as the law enforcers tightened noose around the members of banned outfits in nine districts of Hyderabad police region following targeted killing of the amir of Nawabshah chapter of Ahmadi Jamaat a day ago and killing of a physician of the same community in Mirpurkhas on Monday.

A complete strike was observed in Mirpurkhas on a call given by the Ulema Action Committee in protest against the crackdown, office-bearers and workers of religious parties after two assailants shot dead the doctor at his hospital.

In Nawabshah, police picked up local leaders of Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamaat and Shia Ulema Council under an FIR lodged by Mohammad Ashfaque Rajput, nephew of late Ahmadi Jamaat amir Mohammad Yousuf Rajput, against two unidentified armed men.

The arrested people included Maulana Hanif Khoso, Qari Abdul Haleem, Mufti Azeem Arain, Mohammad Rafiq Arain, Qari Ashraf Madani, Qari Amjad Madani, Moulana Mehmoodul Hassan, Shamsuddin Tunio and Syed Subhan Ali Shah.

Leaders of Nawabshah chapters of Ahl-i-Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Shia Ulama Council and other religious organisations condemned the arrest of religious leaders and workers.

They said that police were raiding their offices and houses without any proof linking them with the murder. Aalami Majlis Tahaffuz-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat also held a meeting and condemned the arrest of religious leaders.

In Mirpurkhas, a complete strike was observed in protest against police crackdown against ulema, office-bearers and workers of religious parties following murder of the Mirpurkhas doctor, Abdul Mannan Siddique.

Police picked up over a dozens ulema, workers and office-bearers of religious parties after raiding mosques and seminaries in Mirpurkhas, Digri, Mirwah Gorchani, Jhuddo, Tando Jan Mohammad, Naukot and Kot Ghulam Mohammad.

Security has been tightened in the city with police personnel deployed on all the main roads, roundabouts, sensitive buildings and private buildings.

Police in Hyderabad rounded up eight activists of banned organiations in the wake of targeted killing of two Qadiyani men in Mirpurkhas and Nawabshah.

“We are verifying their activities in light of their statements under the fourth schedule of Anti-Terrorism Act,” said the DPO.

Elsewhere, police picked up around 30 activists of banned outfits in nine districts of Hyderabad region. They included Saleem Sindhi, Sher Mohammad Khoso, Ghazanfar Rabbani, Mohammad Khan and Ali Akbar.

Under the fourth schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act the activists are bound to keep police informed about their activities on a regular basis.