KARACHI, May 2: Police raided the head office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Thursday morning in Azizabad and picked up former senators Aftab Shaikh, Nasreen Jalil and ex- provincial minister for labour, Shoaib Bokhari.

The raid was conducted around 4:15am, when a police party headed by town police officer, Irfan Shaikh, and DSP Latif Siddiqui raided the party’s head office, commonly known as ‘nine- zero’, a police official said.

Police took the three leaders away with them. Later in the day Aftab Shaikh and Nasreen Jalil were set at liberty. However, the police sources said the provincial home department had terminated the validity of the parole of Shoaib Bokhari and he was sent back to jail, as he was an under-trial prisoner.

Dr Farooq Sattar told Dawn that till 6pm about 400 party activists and their family members had been taken in police custody. “They have been detained at different police stations and CIA centres”.

He said senior party leaders, Aftab Shaikh, Nasreen Jalil and Shoaib Bukhari were arrested after a police raid at the party headquarters. He added that Aftab Shaikh and Nasreen Jalil were released, while Shoaib Bukhari had been given in jail custody.

Dr Sattar claimed that police raided at his residence and the residences of other party leaders including Waseem Akhtar and Khalid Bin Walid. He said that about 200 party activists and supporters had been picked up by law enforcing agencies in Karachi alone.

He termed the arrests indiscriminate and against the policy declared by the government.

To a question he said that government had asked his party to change the decision to observe a day of mourning and strike. He mentioned that the mourning day and strike were observed overwhelmingly by the people of Sindh in a peaceful manner.

However, DIG Karachi Tariq Jamil said: “We have arrested some 40 suspects for their involvement in criminal activities. We have not prepared any lists of criminals nor have we launched a crackdown targeting any political or other party.”

He maintained that police had arrested only those involved in disturbing peace and did not make unjustified arrests. However, the sources in police said that more than 100 people were picked up in the city and their houses were raided by police.

The house of Abdul Sattar, a Dawn staffer, in New Karachi was also raided in the morning by a police party led by Inspector Taufiq Zahid. He said police had ransacked his house and picked him up along with his three brothers for unknown reasons.

He said the police broke the doors of his house and policemen in plain clothes abused his family members. He identified himself to those who had entered forcibly, but they did not pay heed to what said and dragged him and his brothers to a police mobile van, where Inspector Taufeeq Zahid was present. When Sattar introduced himself to Taufeeq Zahid, he let him off along with his brothers.

Police also conducted several raids in New Karachi, North Karachi, Liaquatabad, Jamshed Road, Nazimabad, and other areas.

Police in plain clothes raided and ransacked houses and abused families.