KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Wednesday demanded that a judicial commission be set up to investigate ‘extrajudicial killing’ and enforced disappearances of its workers.

Speaking at a press conference, MQM leaders Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Kanwar Naveed Jameel strongly condemned the custodial death of party worker Wasim Dehlvi and said that the extrajudicial killings of 40 MQM workers had taken place since the launch of the Karachi operation.

Mr Jameel said only MQM workers were being targeted during the Karachi operation that had been launched against criminals.

He said senior MQM leader Aamir Khan was still in custody of the law-enforcement agencies despite the Rangers claim that they had not arrested him rather he had been taken away as a ‘guest’.

He said that 190 MQM workers had been killed since the launch of the Karachi operation. “Our 92 workers are still missing and no law-enforcement agency is accepting their arrests.”

The newly elected MNA demanded that the authorities give protection to the MQM workers.

On the occasion, Dr Siddiqui said that Wasim was brutally tortured in custody. He said that the MQM asked the people of Karachi to mourn his extrajudicial killing on Wednesday and Thursday.

He said that Wasim was an active worker of Unit 117 of the Baldia Town sector of the MQM’s organisational structure. He left a widow and three children to mourn.

Dr Siddiqui demanded that a judicial commission be set up to investigate not only the custodial death of Wasim but the extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearances of all MQM workers.

He questioned the silence of the judiciary over the killing of Karachi youths and also asked the human rights organisations to raise their voice against the injustices and the treatment meted out to the people of Karachi in the name of a so-called operation.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2015

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