Eleven people were killed, at least six of them feared to be lawyers, and several others injured when violence broke out in various parts of the city following a clash between two groups of lawyers outside the City Courts on Wednesday afternoon.
The most horrifying incident took place at Tahir Plaza, where six charred bodies including those of two women were recovered. The police said that the six bodies were of lawyers. The rioters also torched around 50 vehicles in different parts of the metropolis.
The clash between the lawyers at the City Court left eight members of the MQM Legal Aid Committee injured, who were taken to the Civil Hospital. They were identified as Javed Hashmi, Aurangzeb, Shagufta Ijaz and others. Soon after, violence gripped the city, with masked armed men roaming around firing in the air and torching vehicles.
There was unprecedented violence in the vicinity of the City Courts, where unidentified miscreants locked the main gate of the Tahir Plaza, situated opposite the courts. There are more than 200 offices of lawyers in the building. The miscreants opened indiscriminate fire at the building and later set it ablaze.
President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the recent acts of violence in Karachi and Lahore and vowed that on no account subversive elements would be allowed to disturb the peace.
These views were expressed by the two leaders in a meeting held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday. Noting that the incidents in which former chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim and former federal minister Dr Sher Afgan Niazi were assaulted and treated inhumanely, the two leaders stressed the need for developing an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding of differing points of view.
They termed the incidents totally unacceptable and directed the authorities concerned to carry out an immediate investigation to identify and ascertain those involved in such acts. They vowed that the democratic process in the country would not be allowed to be derailed at any cost. We are a civilised nation and such acts are not only embarrassing for the individuals but also for the government and the nation, they added.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) on Wednesday announced to hold nationwide protests against the incidents of violence against its leaders Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, Sher Afgan Niazi, MQM women legislators and lawyers.
“I warn that no one should take our restraint as weakness as we are striving to uphold the norms of tolerance and reconciliation; we would also hold protest demonstrations against the FIRs being registered against the PML workers; our lawmakers would hold protests inside and outside the assemblies; the PML bodies would hold protests at all the districts, while the provincial assemblies boycott will continue,” said PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain while addressing a press conference here at the PML House after presiding his party Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting.
He alleged that the PML-N leadership was involved in manhandling of Dr Sher Afgan, saying that Shahbaz Sharif was acting as “de facto” chief minister of Punjab. Flanked by Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, senator Tariq Azeem, Amir Muqam, Nisar Memon and others, Shujaat told journalists that the CEC also formed a committee, comprising Gohar Ayub Khan, senators Nisar Memon, Akram Zaki and S M Zafar and MNA Kashmala Tariq to hold meetings with diplomats of EU, Commonwealth and other countries and apprise them of the violence meted out to the PML leaders.
Outgoing Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Afzal Sahi in the opening session of the new provincial assembly on Wednesday allowed after resistance of about one hour the PML-N and the PPP to table two resolutions, paying rich tributes to Benazir Bhutto and condemning the October 12, 1999 military coup of Pervez Musharraf.
Earlier, lawmakers refused to take oath till the outgoing speaker assured them that they were being administered oath under the 1973 Constitution. A total of 353 members took oath from the speaker, who congratulated them on becoming part of the House. He said the new assembly should complete its tenure.
PPP parliamentary leader Raja Riaz threatened that the ruling alliance would neither sign the members’ attendance register nor allow members of other parties for at least one hour unless the speaker allowed tabling of the resolution by suspending the rules.
Former federal minister, Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi has been rescued safely by President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Aitezaz Ahsan. Enraged lawyers tore up Dr. Afgan’s clothes and attacked him by throwing stones and shoes. They also shaterred the windows of the ambulance in which Dr. Afgan was being taken away from the site of the incident. Earlier, a large number of lawyers laid a siege around the office of Dr. Afgan’s lawyer when he came to visit him.
The police present at the scene failed to create a safe passage for Dr. Afgan and he remained confined in the office for about three hours. Later, President SCBA Aitezaz Ahsan arrived here to control the situation and disperse the lawyers. Although he asked the enraged lawyers and others to leave the place, they continued to wait for Dr. Afgan to come out.Later, Dr. Afgan came out of the building and escorted by Aitezaz Ahsan. Struggling through the crowd they made their way to an Edhi ambulance with the help of police
Nisar Ahmad Khuhro and Shehla Raza of the Pakistan People’s Party have been elected unopposed on Sunday as speaker and deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly.
Speaker Sindh Assembly Syed Muzaffar Husain Shah announced that no other candidate, except the PPP candidates Nisar Ahmad Khuhro and Shehla Raza, filed nomination papers. He said their nomination papers were valid and declared them as elected unopposed.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had decided after an understanding with the PPP, not to contest the election for the offices of speaker, deputy speaker and the chief minister. Similar was the decision of the other opposition parties - the PML-Q, PML-F and NPP.
It will not be out of place to mention that Nisar Khuhro is the second PPP leader elected unopposed as Speaker Sindh Assembly; earlier Syed Abdullah Shah was elected as speaker in the year 1988, when the PPP and the MQM had formed an alliance.
President Pervez Musharraf’s nod finally led to the appointment of Kamil Ali Agha as the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate by the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q).
“The decision was taken at an undeclared meeting of top PML-Q leaders with the president four days back,” a senior party stalwart, who attended the unreported session, told The News. Among others present at the deliberations were PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Mohammad Ali Durrani, Wasim Sajjad, Lt-Gen (retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi, Anwar Bhinder and Kamil Ali Agha.
The only qualification, if it can be so called, that earned Agha the prestigious nomination was that he was an “aggressive” and “attacking” person, who would do well for the party in this position, the PML-Q leader said.
Others considered in the meeting for the office were found too docile and independent minded, who would not be belligerent in the new parliamentary arrangement when the PML-Q was on the defensive in the Senate as well as the National Assembly.
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