KARACHI, Nov 28: Law enforcement personal have taken over the unit offices vacated early Wednesday morning by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in Landhi, Malir and Shah Faisal Colony.

Following the sudden withdrawal of the Muttahida from the party offices which they had occupied after the eviction of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement in Landhi and Shah Faisal Colony, the police and rangers moved in and occupied the party offices, residents of the areas said.

The residents of the affected areas said that at certain places the rangers had taken positions on the rooftops of the abandoned sector offices.

A senior police officer said that joint pickets of police and rangers had been set up to deter the Mohajir Qaumi Movement from reoccupying the offices.

In an apparent move to arrest the leadership of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, the police raided the house of Afaq Ahmed in Landhi No. 6, sector 36-B, late Thursday night. They could not find him there and also raided the neighbouring houses.

In the night-long operation, the police also raided the houses of party activists in Landhi and rounded up around 30 of them.

In Shah Faisal Colony’s sector 107, the police arrested 15 activists of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement in different raids conducted from 3am to 5am.

A spokesman for the Mohajir Qaumi Movement said that 60 to 70 party activists had been picked up by the police. He said that the police raided houses in sectors 4-D and 36-D in Landhi Saudabad, and arrested party activists and supporters.

In New Karachi, a police mobile came under attack when some persons allegedly belonging to the Mohajir Qaumi Movement opened fire on it.

According to details, the SHO New Karachi was patrolling the area in sector 5-J when some armed men opened fire at the police party. They returned fire injuring a suspect. The police chased and arrested two injured identified as Shahzad and Rashid. They claimed recovery of a klashnikov from Rashid and a pistol from Shahzad. The police said the rest of the attackers managed to escape.

Expecting a protest demonstration by the women wing of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, the police on Thursday evening blocked all accesses to the governor’s house at the Aiwan-i-Saddar Road. They deployed water tankers, coaches and minibuses to block all the routes to the governor’s house.

Several women protesters of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement and some lady police officials were injured when they clashed in front of the governor’s house last Friday.

Meanwhile, the coordination committee of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Thursday demanded of the President and the Prime Minister to ensure that “no-go areas” were cleared of armed activists of the rival Haqiqis.

In a statement, the committee alleged that after the Muttahida’s return from the Haqiqi-dominated areas, activists of the rival faction had started victimising people in the Lines Area, Landhi, Korangi and Shah Faisal Colony.

It claimed that Haqiqi activists were roaming about in those areas, threatening the people with dire consequences.

The coordination committee maintained that it was a mockery of democracy that representatives of the people were not being allowed to reach their electorate.