KARACHI, June 6: The all-parties conference, held here on Monday under the auspices of the Jamaat-i-Islami, held the Sindh government responsible for the ongoing wave of terrorism and target killings in Karachi. It demanded immediate removal of the coalition for restoration of peace in the city and peaceful holding of local bodies elections in a free and fair manner.

The APC was held at the JI office, Idara Noor-i-Haq, and presided over by MMA chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed.

The conference adopted a resolution which recalled the recent incidents of a bomb blast at the Madinatul Ilm mosque in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, tragic incidents in Malir, kidnapping and killing of a JI leader Mohammad Aslam Mujahid and target killing of Jamal Tahir. It observed that these incidents, in which one of the Sindh coalition partners was directly involved, were aimed at influencing the local bodies elections and hijacking the public opinion.

The APC expressed its concern over the attitude of federal government which, it said, had failed to take notice of the grave situation in Karachi where many localities had been turned into ‘no-go areas’ for opponents of the government.

Criticizing the authorities for not allowing inclusion of the names of the nominated suspects in Aslam Mujahid’s killing in the FIR, the resolution said it was tantamount to protecting killers and terrorists. It demanded that the names of the suspected killers of Mr Mujahid and Mr Tahir be mentioned in the FIRs.

Earlier, speakers at the APC expressed their concerted view that the city could get rid of the terrorists, extortionists, target killers and plunderers only when all opposition parties formed a united front. They said that the front should contest the local bodies elections and launch a decisive movement for the supremacy of the constitution.

Addressing the conference, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said in his presidential remarks that the entire country was concerned over the prevailing situation in Karachi. He claimed that tension heightened after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Dr Farooq Sattar announced winning Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s pledge of Rs1 billion for development work in Karachi. He observed that soon after the MQM delegation’s meeting with Gen Pervez Musharraf in Karachi, target killings started taking place in Karachi and the victims appeared to be potential candidates of the opposition. The killings, he added, took place in the localities which the MQM wanted to remain as ‘no-go areas’ for its opponents.

Mr Qazi alleged that after losing support at grass-root level, the MQM was seeking free hand to spread panic and fear and hijack public opinion in the coming elections.

The MMA chief criticised the attitude of law-enforcement agencies, including the army and Rangers, for turning a blind eye towards the situation. In this context, he referred to the kidnapping of Aslam Mujahid from a crowded bazaar before being killed by his kidnappers. He described the government’s announcement regarding a reward of Rs2.5 million for a clue to the killers as ‘a drama’.

He told the conference that after the killing incident, the car carrying some JI leaders returning from the city’s airport was stopped by police near Sharea Faisal police station. About 30 armed youths, he said, arrived there on their motorcycles and the police disappeared. The gate of the police station was then closed, he added.

Mr Qazi claimed this indicated that the government was patronizing the killers.

In order to bring about a revolutionary change in the country, there was a need to approach people, instead of looking towards the US or the army. For this purpose, he said, the ARD and MMA had agreed to launch a movement on three points — preventing the army’s interventions in civilian affairs, restoration of the 1973 constitution in it pre-Oct 12, 1999 shape, and holding of fresh elections under an independent election commission.

He said that all opposition forces should formulate their strategies before the upcoming local bodies elections to get their demands accepted and get the city rid of terrorists. They should evolve a political culture of tolerance for each other and instead of looking towards the army or the US, they should go to the people for a change.

Speaking at the conference, Prof N. D. Khan said that the prevailing situation in Karachi was an evidence that people had lost faith in the rulers and the country was heading for a political impasse.

Maulana Khalid Mehmood Soomro called for a vigorous struggle to counter the dictatorship imposed on the country by an individual.

Veteran politician Mairaj Mohammad Khan warned of disastrous consequences for the country if the present government was not removed as soon as possible.

PML-N leader Zain Ansari said that the country had been turned into a police state.

Others who spoke at the APC included Mian Maqsood, Nasrullah Shaji, Dr Mairajul Huda Siddiqui, Zubair Khan, Maulana Abdul Karim Abid, Basharat Mirza, Syed Zia Abbas and Nusrat Mirza.