KARACHI, May 3: The issue of ongoing Lyari operation dominated the Sindh Assembly proceedings on Thursday, with at least three senior lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan People’s Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement tracing the history of derailment of peace in the city’s oldest neighbourhood and explaining the causes that finally led to the police action.

The issue was highlighted in the assembly just a day after the ancestral home of PPP Minister Rafique Ahmad Engineer in Lyari was looted and set on fire.

Lyari that used to be a cradle of peace and progressive movements in the city had been turned into a hub of criminal activities by a handful of gangsters, legislators said. They added that the area produced world-class footballers and boxers until gangsters took its control and deprived the people of proper education, medical and sports facilities.

They dispelled the impression that the Lyari operation was launched against an ethnic community.

Earlier, making a statement under rule 215 of the rules of procedures of Sindh Assembly, Senior Minister Pir Mazharul Haq condemned the arson attack on the minister’s house and assassination of devoted and sincere colleague Malik Mohammad Khan. He said that the PPP was paying a heavy price for the sake of law and order in the province.

Expressing solidarity on behalf of the house with the minister, Pir Mazhar said that sacrifices of Malik Mohammad Khan and others would not go in vain and the situation would soon improve. “We will rebuild his home.”

He said that Lyari was the birthplace of this mega-city where peaceful and hardworking poor people were living. During its tenure, he said, the PPP carried out huge development works, including the laying of playgrounds, parks, and construction of schools, institutes of higher education and healthcare units and also provided jobs to residents in Lyari.

Explaining the background of the Lyari operation, he said that the PPP wanted to set its house in order first before launching similar operations in other parts of the city to flush out criminals. He said that the government was determined to clean the area in the larger interest of its residents. He said the authorities were well aware of the hardships being faced by the residents due to the operation, but they would end once and for all with the elimination of criminals.

Sindh Archives Minister Rafique Ahmad Engineer, making a statement under the rule 215 of the rules of procedures of the Sindh Assembly, said that a wrong impression was created that the operation was being carried out against the Sindhis and the Baloch. In fact, he said, it was initiated against the handful criminals who had made the life of poor and peaceful residents miserable.

These criminals had given weapons instead of pens, books and footballs in the hands of innocent teenagers, the minister said.

In Lyari, which had produced sportsmen such as Olympian Hussain Shah and Asian Boxing Champion Ali Bakhsh, youths were being made drug addicts, he said.

“I want to declare from the floor of this house that we do not like the smell of gunpowder and asked misguided youths to lay down weapons,” said a resolute lawmaker who has been twice elected from the Lyari constituency.

Seeds of unrest

Tracing the history of unrest in Lyari, Mr Ahmad said it all started in 2003 when the Baloch residents were killed and their houses came under grenade attacks.

He recalled that Waja Karim Dad, who was elected twice to the national assembly from Lyari and had done a lot for the area, was gunned down in the month of Ramazan. Similarly, Malik Mohammad Khan, a senior PPP office-bearer, was killed while he was leading a procession in support of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The minister also recalled the killing of Anwar Bhai Jan, Hassan Soomro and a number of other PPP workers and said that violence was not a solution.

He highlighted the need to expose “the hidden hands” who equipped peaceful residents of Lyari and other parts of the city with deadly weapons.

“My house that was torched by criminals was a historical building, as it belonged to my great grand mother. I have its documents dated back to 1876. My father and forefathers had rendered sacrifices for democracy, so such incident cannot dampen his spirit,” he said.

Karachi was turned into Uroos-ul-Bilad and a great port city with the sweat and blood of the people of Lyari, he said. They were peace-loving people, who toiled day and night to earn livelihoods, but were held hostage to the criminal activities, he added.

He informed the house that MQM chief Altaf Hussain talked to him over the phone for 40 minutes and expressed his full support.

Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Raza Haroon and other colleague had also phoned him and expressed their full support that boosted his confidence, he said, adding that the ANP leadership had already given a statement in his support.

In his brief speech, MQM lawmaker Syed Sardar Ahmad said that no one could differ from whatever views were expressed by Pir Mazhar and Rafique Engineer. “We are striving against terrorism. Those involved in terrorism want destruction in the province and the country,” said Mr Ahmad.

Expressing solidarity with the people of Lyari, he said that his sympathies were with the common man and with Rafique Engineer.

He condemned the arson attack on the minister’s house and said that the MQM did not ignore Lyari when the Muttahida leader Mustafa Kamal was the city nazim. During his four-year term in office, the city government carried a number of development projects in Lyari.

Earlier when some lawmakers insisted that resolutions be taken up, Speaker Nisar Ahmad Khuhro said that merely adopting resolutions by the house was not enough until they were implemented.

Referring to the general discussion, which was the last item on the order of the day, Mr Khuhro suggested to the law minister that the item of discussion on the law and order situation be kept after the adjournment motion.

Before the house was adjourned for Friday, PPP legislator Mohammad Anwar Mahar raised a matter related to police attitude. He said whenever the lawmakers went to the police headquarters to meet the IG they were not allowed to enter and made to wait until the police chief gave his consent to meet them. Unlike the police headquarters where they were not allowed to meet the police chief despite the fact that they showed them their assembly cards, the lawmakers were allowed to enter the CM House and the chief secretary’s office on these cards, he said.

The speaker suggested to him that the matter could be taken up through a privilege motion.

Resolution on press passed

The house unanimously passed a resolution pertaining to the World Press Freedom Day.

The resolution, which was moved by Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri, stated: “This assembly commemorates the World Press Freedom Day; reiterates its commitment to uphold the freedom of press as enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan; acknowledges the necessity of sustained democracy to safeguard this freedom; pays tribute to the journalists who struggled for democracy and press freedom; and salutes those courageous journalists who became victims to tyranny and terrorism”.

The house later took up three resolutions from the order of the day and referred them to the respective standing committees.

The resolution whose notice was given by PPP lawmaker Saleem Khursheed Khokhar pertained to changes in curricula to include the role of heroes belonging to religious minorities in history.

In their resolution, Humera Alwani and Heer Soho demanded strict action against those involved in influencing parents to give their minors in lieu of monitory compensation. Another resolution, whose notice was given by Anwar Ahmed Khan Mahar, expressed concern over water containing industrial waste from Punjab entering into Sindh resulting in salinity and damaging cultivated land of district Ghotki and Sukkur and demanded proper arrangement to treat this water before draining it into the sea.

The house, which was called to order at 11.15am, called it a day at 2.30pm.