HYDERABAD: In an accelerated pace of their action against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London, the Sindh Rangers demolished its three offices and carried out raids on the houses of its activists in Hyderabad on Saturday evening and Sunday.

A search operation was reportedly carried out in Gharib Nawaz Colony but no arrests were declared till late in the evening.

Soon after the arrest of MQM-A coordination committee head Prof Dr Hasan Zafar Arif and two other members, Kanwar Khalid Yunus and Amjadullah Khan, in Karachi on Saturday afternoon, the Rangers-led operation in Hyderabad was accelerated to check the party’s activities. Law-enforcers picked up Intikhab Alam and his brother, Rahil Qureshi, along with their acquaintance Tasneem Alam, from their house in Faqir ka Pir locality at around midnight intervening Saturday and Sunday. They reportedly seized some weapons on their pointation but Rangers authorities avoided sharing details of the raids and swoop.

In the meantime, a unit office and two sector offices that had remained under the use of the MQM before its split in August were demolished in the SITE area, Gharib Nawaz Colony near Parda Park (a municipal park), and the Seroghat area. Another sector office set up at a government facility near Liberty Market was got vacated. Since the Aug 22 incendiary speech made by MQM supremo Altaf Hussain, his party’s five offices in Hyderabad have been demolished.

Zafar Rajput, who was appointed the head of MQM-A’s Hyderabad zone on Oct 21 at a meeting of pro-Altaf workers held at his residence, and Momin Khan, a member of the zonal committee in the party’s organisational structure, were produced before a duty magistrate by the Hali Road police in connection with an FIR (96/16) registered against them for their alleged anti-state activities.

Sub-inspector Akram lodged the FIR on behalf of the sate against Zafar Rajput, Momin Khan and a dozen other unknown suspects who, according to the FIR, raising anti-Pakistan slogans at the party’s Parda Park sector office.

The magistrate granted bail to the two held suspects in a sum of Rs10,000 each but the area police re-arrested Momin Khan from outside the court. “Yes, he had to be detained again in view of the nature of the offence he was booked for,” said a police source who denied having picked up the other suspect, Mr Rajput, a cardiac patient, again.

Reports suggested that Mr Rajput entered the magistrate’s room but slipped away, after being let off on bail, fearing his arrest. However, there were rumours about his re-arrest which remained unverified. He could not be approached by phone to confirm or deny that he was going to hold a press conference, as suggested by some of his party colleagues.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2016