NEWS UPDATE -- MQM PUBLIC RALLY AT SHARAH-E-QUAIDEEN IN KARACHI

SOS -- LIVES IN DANGER
Senator Aftab Sheikh, Senator Nasreen Jalil, Dr. Farooq Sattar MPA and Mr. Zahid Qureshi MPA, arrested, tortured and taken to unknown destination

SOS -- LIVES OF INNOCENT WOMEN IN DANGER
MORE THAN 150 MOHAJIR WOMEN BELONGING TO THE MQM SEVERELY BEATEN, HUMILIATED AND UNLAWFULLY ARRESTED BY KARACHI POLICE IMPORTED FROM PUNJAB

Pakistan Arrests Opposition Backers  

A policeman fires teargas shell on fleeing supporters of opposition parties, Saturday, Sept 11, 1999 in Karachi. Police arrested hundreds of opposition supporters and their leaders to prevent them from staging an anti-government rally in the violent port city of Karachi. Hundreds had gathered in an eastern neighborhood to demonstrate against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, defying a day-old ban on demonstrations in southern Sindh. (AP Photo/Zia Mazhar)

11 September 1999

Pakistan time: 9.30 p.m.
Mr. Kanwar Khalid Younus MNA, Mr. Hassan Musanna Alvi MNA and Mr. Mohammad Yousuf MPA have been arrested during the raid conducted at Nine Zero by DSP Irfan Bahadur and notorious SHO Ghazanfar Kazmi of Azizabad Police Station.

Pakistan time: 9.20 p.m.
Three elected representatives belonging to the MQM have been arrested recently by the personnel of Artillery Maidan Police Station in Karachi. Mr. Arif Khan Advocate MNA, Mr. Mohammad Hussain MPA and Mr. Liaquat Qureshi MPA, have been arrested while they were on their way to the Karachi Press Club to address a Press Conference. Furthermore, at present Nine Zero has been cordoned off by heavy contingent of Police and other law enforcement agencies, led by DSP Irfan Bahadur.

Pakistan time: 8.40 p.m.
It has been confirmed now that Senator Aftab Ahmed Sheikh, Deputy Convenor of MQM, has received serious injuries and his ribs are broken. He was badly beaten and arrested earlier along with Dr. Farooq Sattar, Senator Nasreen Jalil and Mr. Zahid Qureshi. At present he is being detained at the Airport Police Station where no medical aid has so far been provided to him. Furthermore, Dr. Farooq Sattar, Parliamentary Leader of MQM in the provincial assembly is being kept in unlawful detention at the Ferozeabad Police Station. We are trying to gather information regarding his health and the injuries he has sustained.

Pakistan time: 7 p.m.
We have received further details of the police brutalities upon the Mohajir women at Shahrah-e-Quaideen. The Police threw teargas shells directly towards the peacefully assembled women. Indiscriminate and barbaric baton charge was carried out, women were beaten, they were kicked, punches were thrown at the stomach, gold necklesses and bangles were snatced, clothes were ripped apart and the Police threatened to abuse them in front of the public if they refused to withdraw immediately. Such barbaric and shameful act of dishonouring and molesting female members of public has never ever been witnessed in the history of Pakistan. The police carried out this illigitimate and unlawful act with impunity under the instructions of Nawaz Sharif Government.

It has now been reported that more than 150 Mohajir women have been arrested so far.

Pakistan time: 6.05 p.m.
Several women who were badly beaten at Shahrah-e-Quaideen, have reached Nine Zero. Due to severe torture inflicted upon them by the Police and other law enforcement agencies, they are under acute trauma and are in a state of shock. Several women belonging to the MQM have been arrested and taken away in armoured personnel carrier no. SP 5202. Their whereabouts are unknown.

Pakistan time: 5.50 p.m.
Police have now resorted to heavy shelling at the public meeting point at Sharah-e-Quaideen and its adjacent areas within the radius of one square mile. The teargas shells have been reported to fall within several homes in the locality of Tariq Road, PECHS Blocck-2 and Block-6. Hundreds of area residents including men, women, children and elderly people have been injured as a result and due to the cordoning off of the area these injured people cannot be provided first aid or taken to nearby hospital. Furthermore, several hundred MQM office bearer, workers and supporters have been arrested so far.

Pakistan time: 4.50 p.m.
All the Mohajir and Sindhi women who went to attend the Public Rally of MQM are being badly beaten, they are being baton charged, their clothes were deliberately ripped off to embarass them, hundreds of them have been arrested. Despite all the atrocities and highhandedness of the Adminstration on the instruction of Nawaz Sharif Government, large number of people are still trying to reach the meeting point for the Public Rally.

According to lates available reports, Senator Aftab Sheikh and Dr. Farooq Sattar have received severe head injuries deliberately inflicted through baton charge.

Pakistan time: 4.30 p.m.
According to latest information Senator Nasreen Jalil, Deputy Convenor of MQM Co-ordination Committee, and Mr. Zahid Qureshi, Member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh, have also been arrested from Sharah-e-Quaideen.They have been badly beaten at the time of arrest and then dragged towards police mobiles and taken to unknown destination. According to eyewitnesses both of them were badly bleeding as a result of brutal torture.

Pakistan time: 4 p.m.
Most recently the personnel of CIA and Police have arrested Dr. Farooq Sattar and Senator Aftab Ahmed Sheikh from the point of MQM Public Rally at Sharah-e-Quaideen in Karachi.

-- Dr. Farooq Sattar, Member of MQM Co-ordination Committee and MQM Parliamentary Leader in Sindh Assembly has been arrested by Police. He was severely beaten and dragged towards police mobiles along with dozens of other MQM workers and supporters.

-- Senator Aftab Ahmed Sheikh, Deputy Convenor of MQM Co-ordination Committee, has been arrested from the point of Public Rally at Sharah-e-Quaideen. According to eyewitnesses heavy torture was inflicted upon him. His clothes were torn apart.

-- Moreover, the whereabouts of Senator Nasreen Jalil, Deputy Convenor of MQM Co-ordination Committee, and Mr. Zahid Qureshi, Member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh, are unknown.

It is strongly apprehended that their lives are in extreme danger.

Pakistan time: 3.30 p.m.
The entrance to Sharah-e-Quaideen, from Sharah-e-Faisal has been flooded with oil and water to prevent any transportation towards the stage of the MQM Public Rally.

Pakistan time: 2.45 p.m.
Maulana Tahir Ul Quadri, leader of Pakistan Awami Tehrik, has been arrested from Karachi Airport. He too had came to Karachi to attend the public rally of MQM. Furthermore, the surrounding area of Sharah-e-Quaideen, where the public rally is to be organised is overwhelmingly croweded by the Police.

Pakistan time: 2.30 p.m.
The residence of Mr. Mushtaq Mirza, leader of Pakistan Democratic Party, where all the opposition leaders have gathered to go to the MQM public rally has been raided by Police and several opposition leaders have been arrested. Mr. Qaim Ali Shah, provincial chief of PPP, Mr. Nisar Khoro, Parliamentray Leader of PPP in Sindh Assembly and Senator Raza Rabbani of PPP, are among those arrested to prevent them from participating in the public rally of MQM.

Pakistan time: 9 a.m.
Mr. Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, leader of the grand national alliance of opposition parties, has been banned to enter into Karachi. This has just been announced today by the Government. Mr. Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan was coming to Karachi to attend the MQM Public Rally and deliver his speech.

Pakistan time: 8.58 a.m.
Mr. Asfandyar Wali Khan, leader of Awami National Party (ANP) and member of grand national alliance of opposition political parties has been stop at the Karachi Airport. He had arrived in Karachi to attend the MQM public rally and make his speech. Workers and supporters of ANP gathered at the Airport are protesting against the action of police to prevent the entrance of Mr. Asfandyar Wali Khan in Karachi.

Pakistan time: 8.55 a.m.
The entire area of Sharah-e-Quaideen in Karachi, where the MQM had announced to hold its public rally has been totally cordoned off and sealed for all the members of the public. No one is allowed to enter into or leave that area. The police to prevent the general public from entering into the area are using hundreds of police mobiles, cars, buses, loading trucks and other vehicles as blockades.

Pakistan time: 8.25 a.m.
Heavy contingent of Police are still continuing with their cordon off operation of Nine Zero, the MQM Head Office. It has been reported that more than 30 police mobiles and armoured personnel carriers are taking part in the cordon off operation.

Pakistan time: 5.32 a.m.
Heavy contingents of Police have cordoned off the MQM Head Office, commonly known as Nine Zero, in Azizabad, Karachi. Similar cordon off operation is also underway at the residence of Dr. Farooq Sattar in PIB Colony, Karachi. According to reports, CIA, Police and other plain clothed personnel of Malir Police Station have conducted numerous raids throughout the night in the areas of PIB Colony and Jamshed Road. During these raids around 150 MQM workers and supporters have been arrested. Moreover, indiscriminate raids and arrests of MQM workers and supporters in Usmanabad in Lyari have continued throughout the night.

NINE ZERO, MQM HEAD OFFICE IN KARACHI RAIDED BY HEAVY CONTINGENT OF POLICE

SECOND REPORT
11 September 1999 -- London time: 10.40 p.m.

We have received further reports from Karachi that dozens of workers who had come from Hyderabad to attend today's rally were also arrested from Nine Zero. A few names that we have been able to receive so far are: Javed, Fazal Imam, Saliheen, Fazl Ur Rehman, Manzoor, Yameen, Mirza Waqar Baig, Atiur Rehman, Sheikh Mulla, Imam Uddin and Imtiaz from KKF Office.

Furthermore, it has also been reported by eyewitnesses that the police personnel were chanting the slogans of "Allah Akbar", when they raided Nine Zero, as if they were entering into enemy territory to take part in war.

Tonight the Police have unleashed a reign of terror in Karachi to harass the public from fully participating in the mammoth public rally to be held in Karachi today at the Sharah-e-Quaideen in Karachi.

ALL THE WORKERS AND MEMBERS OF THE STAFF AT NINE ZERO UNLAWFULLY ARRESTED
11 September 1999 -- London time: 10.15 p.m.

According to first information, tonight at around 1.30 a.m. Karachi time, heavy contingent of Police raided the central office of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), known as Nine Zero, in Azizabad, Karachi. During this raid the raiding party, led by notorious police officer Ghazanfar Kazmi and the son (Deputy Superintendent of Police) DSP Irfan Bahadur of notorious police officer Bahadur Ali, have arrested several MQM workers and supporters present at the Office, including MQM leaders, Members of MQM Co-ordination Committee, Members of MQM Elders Wing and other members of different departments of the MQM. Women present at the Office were badly beaten.

The raiding party also took with them the party flags, posters, banners and other stuff gathered at the Office for the public rally of 11 September 1999. The same raiding party also raided the MQM MPA Hostel situated near Nine Zero and have arrested all the male members of MQM News Section, Photographic Section and Video Section.

At present (Karachi time: 1.45 a.m.) the Police is conducting raid at the charitable wing of MQM known as Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation (KKF), situated in Block-14, Federal B. Area, Karachi, near to the Nine Zero. They have ransacked the office and are looting the equipment.

Those arrested at Nine Zero, MPA Hostel and KKF were brutally tortured before they were taken away to unknown destination.

Furthermore, at 2.30 Karachi time, we have received information that police is conducting raids all over the city of Karachi, to harass and intimidate MQM leaders, workers and supporters from taking part in today's public rally. Several office bearers, workers and supporters of MQM have been reportedly arrested in these raids.

Pakistan Police Said To Detain 6,000 To Stop Rally -- Reuters 
Top Pakistani opposition leaders held as police foil anti-Sharif rally  AFP
Pakistani opposition vows to defy government ban on Karachi rally AFP
LATEST REPORT ABOUT SITUATION OF KARACHI -- DAWN NEWSPAPER
Pakistan opposition offices raided ahead of rally
CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE CONDEMNS UNLAWFUL RAIDS AND ARRESTS FROM MQM HEAD OFFICE "NINE ZERO", MPA HOSTEL AND KKF BY THE NAWAZ SHARIF GOVERNMENT
Notorious terrorist, drug peddler and land grabber Tariq Khan belonging to the PML-N along with his gangsters is roaming around Nine Zero with a view to harras the MQM Leadership