Tag: Rangers

  • Dawn photographer beaten up by Rangers in Karachi

    Faysal Mujeeb, a photographer working for Dawn, was beaten up by Karachi Rangers for covering Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) Yaum-i-Shuhada event.

    The event was held near ‘Nine Zero’, formerly the headquarters of the MQM led by its founder leader, Altaf Hussain.

    According to Mujeeb, he was covering the event. He recalled that the relatives of slain MQM activists had started arriving at the venue, ‘Yaadgar-i-Shuhada’ on Thursday morning and were laying rose petals on their graves, reports Dawn.

    He stated, “Some of the people present there started raising slogans in favour of Hussain, which prompted Rangers and they started detaining them. I and another media worker, Mehboob Ahmed Chishti, were also picked up.”

    Mujeeb said that he proved his identity as a press photographer and that he was on the duty assigned to him by Dawn. However, he said, the Rangers personnel did not listen to him and started beating him up and his camera and mobile phone also got smashed during the episode.

    “They kept me in detention for about an hour and subjected me to severe thrashing. I was set free only after a Rangers officer came and got my identity verified from his sources,” he revealed.

    Several organisations and journalists condemned the act.

  • Tensions run high as PDM remains undeterred on protest outside ECP amid terror threats

    Tensions run high as PDM remains undeterred on protest outside ECP amid terror threats

    Tensions are running high in the twin cities, especially the federal capital, as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) remains undeterred on plans to hold a protest outside the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the delay in the decision of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) foreign funding case.

    With security around the ECP being tightened to avoid any untoward incident, Geo News reports that the federal government has deployed two platoons of Punjab Rangers along with police personnel and sealed the election watchdog’s main entrance with barbed wires.

    Walkthrough gates have also been installed in the Red Zone area for pedestrians.

    Leaders of the anti-government opposition alliance are scheduled to gather at Kashmir Chowk around 1 pm from where they will lead workers to the ECP aboard a container.

    Earlier, the PDM leadership met in Islamabad at the residence of Maulana Fazlur Rehman to review the protest strategy.

    Addressing the media after the meeting alongside Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president Maryam Nawaz, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief said the PTI foreign case could not be delayed any further and urged the commission to announce the verdict soon.

    “Decisions against elected prime ministers are given in a few months’ time but verdict against a selected premier has been pending for over six years,” he said.

    “Foreign funding case is the biggest scandal in Pakistan. Imran Khan has amassed millions in the name of party funds. He took the mother of all NROs to create political instability in the country,” he said and claimed that PM Imran used charity funds for personal business and to spread chaos.

    The protest will not be attended by PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari who is currently in Sukkur and plans to celebrate PPP’s win in the Umerkot by-polls.

    Meanwhile, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has warned the opposition of creating a law and order situation. He has also said he “doesn’t want to scare anyone” but Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been on high alert since December 15.

  • IG among senior officials of Sindh police seeking leave after Capt (r) Safdar’s arrest controversy

    IG among senior officials of Sindh police seeking leave after Capt (r) Safdar’s arrest controversy

    A day after it was reported that Sindh police was pressurised to register a case against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Capt (r) Safdar, high ranking officers of the force have sought a 60-day leave.

    According to reports, several senior officers, including Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mushtaq Mahar, have decided to go on leave.

    The officials also include the additional inspector general (AIG) of Karachi, Special Branch AIG and several deputy inspector generals (DIGs).

    An application signed by AIG Special Branch Imran Yaqoob, a copy of which is available with The Current, says that he submitted the request for leave after the police high command was “ridiculed and mishandled” leading to the demoralisation of all ranks of the Sindh police.

    A day earlier, soon after the “inappropriate” arrest of Capt (r) Safdar from his hotel room in Karachi, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led Sindh government had distanced itself from the development.

    Amid criticism aimed at alleged rifts among the ranks of the joint opposition — the PPP purportedly going after allied PML-N — it was claimed that the provincial police chief had actually been forced to go after Capt (r) Safdar.

    Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday reportedly took notice of the incident.

    “Taking notice of Karachi incident, COAS has directed Karachi Corps commander to immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.

  • Punjab IG’s office to also be protected by Rangers after lawyers’ protest

    Punjab IG’s office to also be protected by Rangers after lawyers’ protest

    Following the attack on the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), the government has decided to deploy Rangers at important locations of the city including IGP [Inspector General of Police] office.

    Journalist Talat Hussain in his recent tweet has shared an official order from the government in which the interior ministry has directed the home department to deploy of rangers outside state institutes for maintainance of law and order in the city.

    According to the interior ministry’s order, 10 platoons and two companies of the paramilitary force have been deployed in the city. Other important places where platoons will be stationed include Governor House and at the area surrounding Lahore GOR I and II among others.

    The paramilitary force has been deployed under the Pakistan Rangers Ordinance 1959 provision seven and 10.

    Lawyers on Wednesday stormed the emergency ward of the PIC, vandalising public property, setting a police vehicle on fire and attacking provincial minister Fayyaz ul Hasan Chohan.

    The attack resulted into deaths of four people, while several patients were forced out of the building to sit on footpaths. The mob also destroyed millions worth of health equipment inside the hospital and caused damaged to the hospital building.