KARACHI: The Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, on Tuesday released a list of 60 suspects under its detention for 90 days and allowed their families to meet them under the jail manual guidelines in a move that was welcomed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) calling it the constitutional and legal rights of the people to meet their loved ones even if they were facing charges of heinous crimes.

In a brief statement, the Rangers stated that all those under investigations were handed over to the paramilitary force by courts for 90 days under Section 11-EEEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act. While the suspects were being interrogated, their families could see them following the set rules, it added.

“These suspects were handed to Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, by the anti-terrorism courts,” said the statement. “These 60 suspects are under remand and their families can see them according to the jail manual following the set rules. They are allowed to meet their families.”

It was the longstanding demand of the MQM that the families of the held party workers be allowed to meet them despite the fact that they were facing charges of serious crimes, including killings, extortion and illegal business activities. Only last month, the MQM coordination committee had accused the Rangers of torturing party workers imprisoned at the Central Prison, Karachi.

Senior MQM leader and MNA Dr Farooq Sattar had claimed to have received reports that a heavy contingent of Rangers had “conducted an operation” at the Karachi prison’s barracks 18, 19, 24 and 25 and took away 40 under-trial MQM prisoners whose cases were pending for hearing.

Though the MQM said it was reviewing the list of 60 suspects released by the Rangers to confirm that whether it carried the names of its workers, the party welcomed the announcement of the paramilitary force that would bring relief to the families of the detained activists to a large extent.

“This is obviously a very good gesture and we welcome that,” said Ameen-ul-Haq of the MQM. “It would definitely give big relief to the families of those who are arrested. We are not sure that how many of our workers are mentioned on the list but one needs to understand that it’s a legal and constitutional right of everyone, even who is facing criminal charges, that he can meet his families and loved ones. So we appreciate this move of the Rangers.”

The list issued by the Rangers mentioned the names, date of completion of their prevention detention period and their present locations. A majority of the suspects are detained at Meetha Ram Hostel, while only 14, according to the list, are behind bars at the central jail.

Once providing lodging facilities to students of D.J. Science College, the hostel was declared a sub-jail to accommodate ‘dangerous’ prisoners last year as the Rangers-led Karachi operation picked up pace.

The Rangers had earlier sought a separate facility other than the prisons for individuals being held during its ongoing targeted operations in Karachi. In its request en route to the home department, the Rangers had said that the individuals being picked up during the ongoing efforts should be kept in an exclusive facility, far from prisons, so that they could not communicate with their fellows already in jails.

Arms, Rangers’ uniforms seized

The Pakistan Rangers, Sindh on Tuesday claimed to have recovered a huge cache of illegal arms during a search of a house in Azizabad when a murder suspect allegedly associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement during an investigation led the paramilitary force to a hideout near the party headquarters commonly called Nine Zero, a senior official said.

He claimed that Mohammed Kashif, alias David, after his recent arrest revealed about a hidden cache of arms and Rangers uniforms in an Azizabad house.

The Rangers officials recovered all those arms and uniforms of the paramilitary force after the search of the house located near Mor Park in Azizabad — in the same block of Federal B Area where the Nine Zero is situated, the official added.

“Kashif is associated with the MQM and he was wanted in several cases of killings and other terrorist activities,” Colonel Faisal of the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh told reporters after the search operation in Azizabad.

“On his lead we raided this house and during the search we recovered illegal arms, including sub-machine guns, ammunitions and rocket-propelled grenades. We have also recovered uniforms of Rangers from the house. Further investigations are under way.”

Activist held for 90 days

The Rangers informed on Tuesday the administrative judge of the antiterrorism courts about 90-day preventive detention of an alleged hitman for questioning.

The paramilitary soldiers accompanied by their legal team produced Kashif, alias David, said to be associated with a political party, before the administrative judge of the ATCs, Karachi, with an intimation application, detention order and jail warrant.

They informed the court that upon receiving credible information about his involvement in targeted killing, kidnapping and extortion punishable under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, he was put under three-month preventive detention provided in Section 11-EEEE of the ATA for an inquiry.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2016