MQM-P MPA Kamran Farooq arrested for ‘involvement in May 12 violence’

Party condemns lawmaker’s arrest, asks law enforcers to respect due process

Kamran Farooq, a Sindh Assembly member belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), was arrested from his temporary residence in North Nazimabad early on Thursday morning for being allegedly involved in May 12, 2007, incidents, confirmed a party spokesman.

Farooq was elected to the provincial assembly seat, PS-111 Ranchore Line, in the 2013 general elections.

In a statement, issued by the party’s PIB Colony office, asked the law-enforcement agencies to deal with the lawmaker in accordance with the law and the constitution. 

Farooq had moved into his temporary house in North Nazimabad after being chased by law-enforcement agencies.

Condemning the arrest of its assembly member, the MQM-P said he must be treated in accordance with the law and allowed to appear in a court of law if he was booked in a case.

Law enforcers had earlier raided the PIB Colony office on a tip-off, but they did not find Farooq there. 

On May 12, 2007, more than 50 people were killed in shootings and arson attacks in Karachi, where then deposed chief justice of Pakistan Chaudhry Muhammad Iftikhar was scheduled to attend the oath-taking ceremony of the Karachi Bar Association.

However, he had to return to Islamabad from the Karachi airport due to the deadly attacks in the city.

Amin-ul-Haq, incharge of the MQM-P’s information cell, told The News that the release of Kunwar Khalid Younus, a member of the National Assembly and a deputy convener of the party, on bail was a good sign.

Younus had been arrested from outside the Karachi Press Club on August 22 in connection with MQM founder Altaf Hussain’s fiery speech that resulted in the party’s break-up and emergence of the MQM-P led by Dr Farooq Sattar.

After violent protests in the city’s security red zone on August 22, three MQM leaders and scores of activists had been arrested.

Two MQM-P leaders, Qamar Mansoor and Shahid Pasha, are still in jail.

Opposition parties at that time blamed MQM for the violence while the Karachi-based party has always refuted the allegations. 

In July this year, police had claimed that Waseem Akhtar, a MQM-P leader and then its Karachi mayor-designate, had “confessed to his involvement” in the May 12, 2007, violence before a “joint investigation team”.

Akhtar, who was the home department’s adviser when the May 12 killings occurred, and his party denied that he had made a “confession” or even a disclosure about the events.

Police claimed that they had a JIT report in which Mr Akhtar confessed that he planned the violence on the instruction of the party’s high command.

Police had showed Akhtar arrested in seven cases relating to the violence and leaked to media an alleged investigation report in which he apparently took responsibility for the violent events that occurred in 2007.