KARACHI, April 6: A day after police informed the Supreme Court that Azizabad, where the headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement is located, is one of over 30 no-go areas in the city, barricades and barriers on a main road were removed on Saturday.

The police submitted a report to a five-judge Supreme Court bench seized with the hearing of the Karachi law and order implementation case and stated that there were 13 complete no-go areas and 19 partial no-go areas in the city, including Azizabad.

An MQM spokesman claimed that the barricades and barriers, which were erected only for security considerations and in consultation with the law-enforcement agencies, on a road leading to the MQM headquarters — popularly known as Nine Zero — from Mukka Chowk to Madni Masjid were voluntarily removed in order to dispel the impression that Azizabad was a no-go area.“Azizabad has never been a no-go area…certain security measures had been adopted there because of the location of the MQM’s headquarters,” he said.