8,610 people were killed in Karachi in last six years, says CTD report

KARACHI: According to a report of the anti-terrorism department, the CTD, 23 groups have been involved in incidents of targeted killings in Karachi, said Shahzeb Khanzada on the Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, on Monday. He said that out of the 23 groups involved in incidents of targeted killings, people from only three groups were arrested while the law-enforcement agencies had not got a clue about the remaining 20 groups.

Shahzeb said that the CTD report says that 8,610 people were killed in Karachi in the last six years. In this context, Geo News correspondent Talha Hashmi said on the programme that the study report was compiled by the CTD, and it was based on their own research and information.

Talha Hashmi said that according to the CTD research, 23 groups are involved in target killings in Karachi. Members of only three groups had been arrested while nobody knows who the remaining 20 groups are working for.

Commenting on the coup attempt in Turkey, Shahzeb Khanzada said that democratic rule was toppled in Turkey on four occasions in the past.

He said that the people of Turkey suppressed the coup attempt on Friday night by coming out onto the streets. Those who came out onto the streets to save democracy included those as well who had not been happy with the government.

Shahzeb said that the events in Turkey had started a debate in Pakistan as well. Some people are saying that perhaps the people of Pakistan are not as democracy-loving as the Turks are. He said that Imran Khan made a controversial statement, and despite heavy criticism, Imran Khan has not changed his statement. Shahzeb said that Tayyip Erdogan has also been accused of corruption, misuse of authority and nepotism. As president, he had the world’s biggest palace built for himself over an area of 50 acres and at a cost of $350 million. Erdogan government faces the charge of $100 billion corruption. There is one more allegation which says that Erdogan and his family are involved in oil trade with Daesh. There is also a charge of rigging the 2014 election.

Commenting on Imran Khan’s controversial statement, a leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Ismail, while talking to Shahzeb Khanzada on the programme, said that Imran Khan had only made a general statement. He said Erdogan brought economic prosperity to Turkey. He generated employment for the people, brought down the IMF loan to zero, which earned him an enmity from the international agencies.

Imran Ismail said the Tehreek-e-Insaf will not accept martial law in any form. He said that Imran Khan had only repeated what the common man has been saying. The people of Pakistan have not gotten any benefit from democracy.

In a different segment of the programme, Federal Minister for Planning, Ahsan Iqbal, while commenting on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, said the government has been working on the project whole-heartedly. He does not think there is any other project which transformed in just three years time from a paper to $46 billion portfolios.

Responding to a question, Ahsan Iqbal said that China has appreciated our role on every forum.

In a still different segment of the programme, special assistant to the prime minister, Haroon Akhtar, while commenting on the matter of property tax, told Shahzeb Khanzada that the government has held meetings with the representatives of the country’s real estate associations in a very cordial environment. He said the representatives of the real estate associations had two major concerns. One of the concerns related to the choice of a mechanism to be adopted for ascertaining market value of a property, and the second concern pertained to the question what is to become of the transactions that took place before the 1st of July? The government is ready to talk to them on both these concerns. 

Commenting on the glorious victory at Lords, Shahzeb Khanzada said the Pakistani cricket team brought a smile on the people’s faces and lifted the nation from the despair it had fallen into due to recent national tragedies and deaths like the murder of Amjad Sabri and the death of Abdul Sattar Edhi. In such a gloomy atmosphere, our cricket team scored a glorious victory in the first Test against England. This glorious win lifted the morale of the nation. For the first time in the last 20 years, our national team won a test match at Lords, incidentally the venue where six years ago the team had suffered the ignominy of spot fixing. The nation is still celebrating the victory at Lords and paid tribute to the Jawans of the Pakistan Army and their trainers. The entire world is discussing our moment of glory.

Commenting on the murder of Qandeel Baloch, Shahzeb Khanzada said that daily Jang had carried a 100-word story penned by Mubashar Zaidi in which he described a different aspect of honour killing.

Mubashar Zaidi wonders if the matter of honour only concerns men, and that a man can do anything and nobody would bring honour into the matter. Mubashar Zaidi says that both man and woman are human beings, and how come man assumes the role of custodian of honour.