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KARACHI, Nov 4: In a pre-emptive move apparently aimed at thwarting any anti-government protests in the wake of emergency rule imposed by President General Pervez Musharraf, the police force took sharp, targeted action against senior lawyers and leaders of the opposition parties from the small hours on Sunday onwards.
Officials and sources within various political parties and the legal fraternity said that senior lawyers and opposition leaders in Karachi were arrested under the maintenance of public order (MPO) ordinance. Hundreds of policemen conducted raids on lawyers’ houses in different parts of the city and rounded up around a dozen members of the legal fraternity.
A senior official at the Sindh Home Department confirmed the arrests under the MPO. “I cannot give the exact number in terms of the arrested people but about a dozen members of the lawyers’ community were arrested, along with some political workers and leaders,” he informed Dawn. “They will all be sent in jail custody for 90 days under the MPO and while there is no plan for further arrests, the strategy may change depending on the situation.”
The official confirmed the arrests of the president of the Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) Abrar ul Hasan, the president of the Malir Bar Association Zahoor Hussain Mehar and Sindh Bar Council members Noor Naz Agha and Zubair Khan. The only political figure the official confirmed the arrest of was the Sindh president of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf.
‘Police on high alert’
However, the police denied making any arrests under the MPO, adding that the force had been monitoring the situation closely in order to maintain law and order, which was so far under no major threat.
“There is no red-alert situation but we are on high alert,” said Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Azhar Ali Farooqi. “We have increased police mobility across the city given the situation and there was no untoward incident in any part of the country.”
While the CCPO admitted that there had been an incident of violence in the case of a political party worker in the Gulistan-i-Jauhar area, he said that this had been the result of a “misunderstanding.”
Sources told Dawn that the police arrested Younus Boneri, a local leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) in a midnight raid on his Gulistan-i-Jauhar home. Incensed, some of the area people set fire to two vehicles. “We approached the police later and got our man released since he was arrested under misunderstanding,” said ANP leader Shahi Syed. “We have received no reports regarding any arrests of our workers and neither have we received any directive from the central leadership in terms of future action. We are therefore waiting for the final decision.”
Political parties uncertain
Sunday remained a relatively calm day in the city and no political activity was witnessed the day after the imposition of emergency rule. Although the government’s action came under severe criticism by all opposition parties, most remained uncertain about their future stance.
“We have decided to initiate protest campaigns across the country,” Mohammed Hussain Mehnati, the Karachi chief of the Jamaat-i-Islami, told Dawn over the phone from Lahore. “We have learnt that arrest orders for three of our party’s leaders have been issued but we are not afraid of such tactics.”
However, he could not come up with a clear programme in terms of the JI Karachi leadership’s return from Lahore, where they have been attending a three-day party meeting. Neither could Mr Mehnati provide any details about his party’s proposed protest campaign.
The leadership of the Pakistan People’s Party appeared in a similar state of confusion. “We have a party meeting later tonight [Sunday] during which we will decide upon protest or other strategies against the emergency,” said the Sindh president of the PPP, Qaim Ali Shah.
Meanwhile, the administration appeared steadfast in its resolve to deny political parties and the legal community their right to protest since fundamental rights stand suspended under the provisional constitutional order (PCO) issued on Saturday.
“We can’t allow such activity under emergency rule,” said the CCPO. “Police have been positioned to counter any such activism and anyone who knowingly challenges the administration will be held responsible.”
