Demolition of Baitul Hamza, The decision was clearly a polit
Thu Sep 11, 2008
After the election Oct 2002, when Gen. Parvaiz Musharraf was trying to keep out PPP and PML(N), he needed Muttahida's 17 votes for his own party. Muttahida delegation met Parvaiz Musharraf and gave him the only condution to do it. Following the meeting, Parvaiz Musharraf appeared on PTV Khabarnama and announced to abolish so-called no-go area. Next day government started the crackdown on the Mohajir Qaumi Movement.
On17 Nov, Rangers raided the Baitul Hamzah, the central office of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, and started searching it. On the same day Police raided several places in the city including Landhi, Korangi, New Karachi, Malir, Shah Faisal Colony, Orangi Town, and Liaquatabad, and arrested a number of Mohajir Qaumi Movement activists including its Sector and unit Incharge. All sector and unit offices were sealed and all leaders including Afaq Ahmed, chairman of MQM were besieged in the party head office Baitul Humza.
On 18 Nov, The SHO, Landhi Police Station, had reported to the Judicial Magistrate, Karachi East, Zabeeha Khattak, that he had taken over possession of Baitul Hamza and had requested her to issue orders for sealing of the property under section 145 CrPC. The same day the magistrate passed an order to seal the premises.
On the other side, on November 18 Muttahida announced to support the PML(Q) on the assurance that the government would launch an operation against MQM.
After This announcement, A heavy contingent of law enforcing agencies evacuated Mohajir Qaumi Movementi headquarters in Landhi and sealed the building. At least one hundred workers were arrested during the raid on headquarters and other areas of the city. The leadership of the party has gone underground.
On 19 Nov. a worker of Mohajir Qaumi Movement was abducted by Muttehda's terrorists and shot dead in district central. He was the resident of Purana Golimar and was found near Sir Syed College where he was shot at.
On Nov 20 the activists of Mutahida reached Landhi along with 14 Police and Rangers mobiles. Farooq Sattar, Nasreen Jalil and Abdul Qadir Lakhani were leading them. They tried to take over the head office of Mohajir Qaumi Movement named Baitul Hamza but could not achieve their goal by heavy resist of female activites of MQM.
On November 21 Muttehida's activists arranged their office in Babar Market, Landhi No.3 near Baitul Hamza. This happened with heavy presence of Rangers.
On Nov 22, an activist of MQM Arshad Mehmood Rajput, aged 28, was fired upon and he died on the same place. Although, Police and Rangers were patrolling there. An other activist of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement, Abdul Latif Koti, was shot and injured in Khokhrapar, Malir. He has been admitted to Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre.
On the same day a 100s of female activists of the MQM demonstrated in front of the Governor House and Police brutally tortured them.
On November 27, Muttahia withdrew support for the government of Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali, complaining it had failed to eliminate the no-go areas.
On Nov 28, The paramilitary forces and police raided the residence of chairman Afaq Ahmed but failed to arrest him. Meanwhile, the law enforcing agencies picked up some 26 workers of the party during different raids in Landhi.
On January 20, Mohajir Qaumi Movement MNA Mehmood Ahmed Qureshi filed a criminal revision application seeking annulment of the order of the Judicial Magistrate East under which MQM headquarters Baitul Hamza was sealed.
District and Sessions Judge (DSJ), East, Sain Allah Dino Mathelo, while accepting the application for hearing, assigned the same to additional DSJ Syed Saghir Hussain Zaidi for hearing and subsequent disposal according to law. The application has been filed by Sohail Hameed, Advocate.
The bench, however, had observed in its order that even the magistrate passing the order (of sealing) did not appear to be conscious of her responsibilities under Section 145 CrPC and the order passed by her on the application of the SHO and her letter of the same date related only to interim measures of sealing the property without there being anything to indicate that proper proceedings under Section 145CrPC were initiated.
As per the directions of the SHC bench, the petitioner again approached the magistrate with a plea to recall her order dated 18-11-2002. The magistrate, after hearing arguments on the applications, reserved her order till January 15. Since during the hearing the magistrate had observed that she would obtain a fresh report from the SHO, Landhi, before passing the order on the application under section 145 CrPC, the petitioner filed another petition in the SHC for restraining the magistrate from calling fresh police report and passing fresh order before announcing her order reserved on his application under Section 145CrPC.
In the meantime, another development took place and the magistrate herself made a reference to the District and Sessions Judge (DSJ), East, expressing her inability to hear the matter on the grounds that when a stricture had been passed by the SHC against her, her position had become awkward and now it was not proper for her to decide the application of the petitioner.
This reference is still with the DSJ East and on Monday the MNA filed the Criminal Revision application for setting aside the order passed by the magistrate. The DSJ East, Sain Dino Mathelo, has referred the application to Additional DSJ Syed Saghir Hussain Zaidi for disposal.
On 1st February, The Judicial Magistrate (East), Ms Zabeeha Khattak, who had ordered sealing of MQM headquarter Baitul Hamza, on Tuesday directed the SHO Landhi Police Station to de-seal the same and hand over its possession to MNA Mehmood Qureshi.
The magistrate also issued notices to the KBCA and other respondents on a contempt of court application filed by the MNA in respect of demolition of
Baitul Hamza. She, however, rejected the plea of Sohail Hameed, counsel for petitioner Mehmood Qureshi, that the de-sealing be supervised by the magistrate herself. The building was sealed by the same judicial officer on November 11, 2002, on the report of the SHO, Landhi.
In his report, the SHO had submitted that an operation was going on and the building had been surrounded by police and Rangers. The SHO had requested the magistrate to seal the same.
The same magistrate on Tuesday issued notices for March 3, to the respondents, the government of Sindh, SHO Landhi, and the KBCA on the contempt application filed by MNA Mehmood Qureshi. The application pertains to demolition of Baitul Hamza. In the application filed by Sohail Hameed, Advocate, the petitioner has contended that although judicial process was complete in the case of Baitul Hamza but the possession of the premises was to be given to the petitioner by the magistrate (Zabeeha Khattak).
Before the handing over of physical possession of the building the respondents carried out demolition operation which amounted to contempt of court. Meanwhile, Sohail Hameed, Advocate, has filed another application with the JM Zabeeha Khattak which will be taken up on March 3.
On May 13, Syed Abid Ali Jaferi, candidate of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement from NA- 255 (Landhi), on Tuesday moved a contempt application against the Governor, Sindh, Dr Isharat-ul-Ibad for making, as the petitioner put it, a controversial statement with regard to Baitul Hamza, the headquarters of MQM.
Filed through K B Tarique, Advocate, the petition is likely to come up within a couple of days. It has been pleaded in the petition that the alleged contemnor had intentionally and deliberately disregarded the order dated April 3,2003 of the SHC in the Baitul Hamza Petition.
The bench had disposed of the petition after a statement by the Advocate-General, Sindh, that the application for regularisation of a building plan for Baitual Hamza was under process and would be decided in accordance with law. The AG had also given assurance that no action would be taken against the petitioner in respect of the building except in the due course of law and owner of the building would be provided the opportunity of a hearing.
But the governor, it is further pleaded, had given a statement which appeared in the newspapers of May 9, 2003, that the property would be converted into an amenity plot/building. He again gave a statement that appeared in May 10 newspapers that he said the property would be taken into government custody. The petitioner has annexed copies of the statements of governor as they appeared in the Press.
On May 27, The headquarters of Mohajir Qaumi Movement, Bait-ul-Hamza was demolished amidst tightened security, by a team of Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) on Tuesday.
It was the worst example of state terrorism. Bait-ul-Hamza has become a victim of politics of revenge.