ALL PAKISTAN NEWS

Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) leaders and legislators belonging to communities of scheduled caste have termed the recently-passed Sindh Women Agriculture Workers Bill 2019 a landmark law that has set an example to the entire South Asia regarding the protection of rights of women agriculture workers toiling in fields for centuries without enjoying any legal right of labourers.

The Sindh Assembly unanimously passed the law setting out the rights of women working in the agriculture and livestock sectors.

According to the bill, the women in the farming, fisheries and livestock sectors will not only receive payment in cash for their work equal to that received by male workers but will also participate in the decision-making.

In a joint statement, PPP leaders, including MPA Surendar Valasai, Senator Gianchand, and special assistants to the CM Dr Khatumal Jeewan and Poonjo Mal Bheel, lauded the party chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, for conceiving, sponsoring and pursuing the bill till its passage from the Sindh Assembly.

“The PPP leadership's vision has made Sindh the only province in the country and in the region as well to have formally recognised the women agriculture workers as labour [by] giving them all the rights available to industrial labour,” they said.

The bill empowers the women agriculture workers by making it mandatory that their remuneration for their work will not be less than the minimum wages fixed by the government for the workers.

The PPP leaders pointed out that there was little concept of wages or rights for women in the agriculture sector, even though a majority of them worked round the clock in addition to running their homes and taking care of their children.

They welcomed the passage of the bill that has ensured extensive rights to the women agricultural workers in Sindh. Their rights now include entitlement to a maternity leave of 120 days as well as the leave for Iddat as set in their faith.

Furthermore, women workers having children up to the age of two years are also entitled to breastfeed their children in safe and hygienic conditions. “The women in this [agriculture] sector shall perform work free from all forms of harassment or abuse as laid out in the relevant law prevailing in the province,” the PPP leaders said.

The female agricultural workers shall now also receive a written contract of employment if they wish, and are entitled to fair arbitration, particularly with respect to the wages, payment schedules and working conditions that include health and safety.

Besides putting strong checks on discrimination against the women in terms of employment opportunities, wages or working conditions on the bases of caste, religion, ethnicity or residential status, the Sindh government will also issue Benazir Women Income Agricultural Worker’s Cards to the female agricultural workers, the scheduled caste leaders of the PPP said, adding that a majority of the women belonging to the communities of the scheduled caste in Sindh worked as labourers in the agriculture sector without any rights, due to which there was an alarming rate of suicide among these women.

“This legislation gives hope to the hopeless and PPP leadership, especially Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, have [made] history by providing protection to the huge population marginalised since centuries,” they said and asked the other provincial governments of the country to follow Sindh in this regard and ensure due rights to their women agricultural workers.

The Awami National Party on Sunday paid homage to its slain leader Bashir Bilour who was killed in a suicide attack in Peshawar seven years ago.

Addressing a condolence reference at the Baacha Khan Markaz, the party’s provincial secretariat in Pirabad, ANP leaders maintained that their party’s unparalleled services for peace and harmony in the country would not go in vain and always be remembered. A large number of party workers attended the event.

Shahi Syed, the ANP Sindh president, said Bilour was a man of great character who achieved martyrdom for the cause of motherland and represented the party’s true face.

He said the ANP had been a target because it raised voice for the rights of people and against terrorism.

Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led federal government, Syed said “the days of the selected government are numbered”.

“The present rulers do not have the ability and capability to run the government,” he said.

Younas Bunairee, the ANP’s provincial secretary-general, said: “Bilour was a true follower of Baacha Khan, the party’s ideologue whose non-violence philosophy had now been widely applauded”.

“The ANP have had a long list of martyred workers and leaders. However, it could not have been silenced,” he said.

Police on Sunday arrested five people who were travelling in an SUV and carrying out aerial firing in the upmarket Defence Housing Authority neighbourhood.

According to the police, they had received information on the 15 police helpline about unidentified people travelling in an SUV being involved in a firing incident near the Sea View beach.

Responding to the complaint, the Darakhshan police immediately despatched a team to pursue the suspects. The police officials tailed the vehicle and arrested them in the Khayaban-e-Muslim area.

The arrested suspects were identified as Mujahid, Omar Altaf, Saqib, Omar Shaikh and Nadir. Police said the men had initially resisted their arrest, but they finally gave in. The officials said they also seized a licensed pistol from one of the suspects.

The ArtKaam Gallery on Saturday launched an art exhibition titled ‘Seeds of CEAD’, featuring works by the 2019 batch of graduates of Jamshoro’s Centre of Excellence in Arts & Design (CEAD). The exhibit will run until December 28.

The group show’s inauguration was witnessed by Muhammad Riazuddin Qureshi, the secretary of the universities & boards department of the Government of Sindh, and architect Hamir Soomro, who himself is an artist as well as an art promoter.

A statement released by the gallery quoted CEAD Director Prof Dr Bhai Khan Shar as saying: “The struggle to disseminate artworks is never-ending. This year a new tradition is being observed of exhibiting selected works of the final-year students of painting at the ArtKaam Gallery in Karachi.

“The initiative was supported by Junaid Hamid, the gallery’s CEO, who took the decision while witnessing the annual degree show at CEAD and meeting the faculty and the students.

“The various subjects explored and developed thematically in the artworks by the students of the 16th batch of the Department of Fine Arts touched the very soul of the visitors. The sharpness and depth of thought is unbelievable.

“I would like to invite the civil society and art enthusiasts to visit the show and appreciate the hard work so that the candle sparked at CEAD remains kindled and the light is well spread.”

The exhibition is featuring artworks by the following 20 graduates: Aasma Usman, Afsah Ahmed, Alishba Khan Rajput, Ammara Mazari, Anshara Khan, Aqsa Bhutto, Ayesha Shaikh, Bilal Sethi, Bushra Shaikh, Faraz Gaad, Hijab Zehra, Joti Kumari, Kainat Khoso, Niaz Shah Baloch, Qurat-ul-Ain Memon, Tayiba Aziz, Tooba Jawed Shaikh, Tufail Ahmed Mirbahar, Ume Rubab Buriro and Wania Shaikh.

Artist profiles

Aasma Usman, born in Tando Allahyar in 1997, completed her BFA in painting from CEAD. She works in oil painting and mixed media, and investigates the dynamics of landscapes, including the manipulation of its effects and the limits of spectacles based on our assumptions of what landscape means to us. Her work establishes a link between the reality of nature and that of imagined by its conceiver. These works focus on concrete questions that determine our existence.

Afsah Ahmed, born in 1997 and a graduate of CEAD, completed her BFA in printmaking. She has participated in two international exhibitions. She has also participated in an exhibition of 30 young artists at the US Embassy. Besides etching, aquatint, mezzotint, bubble drop, drypoint and photo-etching, the unique technique of drop by using kerosene oil on acrylic sheet expresses her feelings and ideas more. Her thesis theme was moods & expressions by using monoprinting.

Alishba Khan Rajput, born in Hyderabad in 1998, majored in painting, graduated in BFA in 2019 and was awarded honours for her thesis. Her achievements made her pursue further education in the field of arts. Her thesis work is based on the concept of crumpled surface, which reflects the natural phenomenon of light and colours. She portrays unreal image of forms through colours in her paintings and aspires to work further in the field of art to open and explore different art horizons.

Ammara Mazari, born in Khairpur Mirs, graduated from CEAD in painting. She also trained at Hussain Chandio’s art studio in Hyderabad. Her thesis is on our surrounding values and the topic is ‘Social Issue’, elaborating on testing, taunting, discrimination and non-ethical acts.

Anshara Khan, born in Karachi in 1997, graduated with distinction from CEAD in 2019. She had been admitted in the centre in 2016. She has tried her hand at painting, sculpting, printmaking and miniature art. Her work is based on visual imagination so she did her final thesis on surrealism.

Aqsa Bhutto was born in 1997 in Kashmore’s Guddu town, in a distant rural border area of Sindh. She graduated with distinction. She had selected painting as her major. Her thesis work is on installations. She uses pins as thorns on different objects to express her sorrows and to explore issues about cultural expectations.

Ayesha Shaikh, born in 1996 in Hyderabad, graduated with honours. She has been fond of colour pencils, brushes and paints since her early years, and used to draw cartoon characters and landscapes. She chose painting as her major and wants to explore and experiment with her thoughts more profoundly through new techniques. She works with a variety of mediums and materials.

Bilal Sethi, born on 1995, graduated with honours from CEAD in 2019. He completed his bachelor’s in sculpture. He also participated in a youth competition at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) in Islamabad. In his works he shows the damage caused by the ignorance of truth, and the way society manipulates the truth and hides it behind the curtains. His thesis is based on the Punjabi phrase “matti pao”.

Bushra Shaikh, born in 1996 in Larkana, graduated in printmaking from CEAD in 2019. She explores her feelings through the techniques of printmaking. Her thesis is based on her formative years’ recollections. Her prints showcase monochromatic shades with different approaches on zinc plate and wood. These abstract visuals reflect her memories.

Faraz Gaad, born in Larkana, graduated with honours in 2019 from CEAD in painting. His thesis is based on different perceptions. A single piece of art can be viewed and understood in many ways depending on the perceiver and what he perceives. Using double exposure to reveal hidden imagery on a single surface allows him to express the idea of various perspectives that may be exposed upon a single surface.

Hijab Zehra, born in Hyderabad, graduated in 2019 from CEAD, majoring in painting. Her artworks depict expressions in simple stylised faces having some influence of cubical expressionism. The purpose of using dark colours is to explain sadness, the most common emotion, and the bright colours explain the connection to positivity.

Joti Kumari, born in Thana Bhula Khan in 1997, graduated with distinction from CEAD. She had picked painting as her major. She started collecting dust and grime from Jamshoro and used such things as a medium for making her landscapes, dyeing the cracks and folds in the abstract.

Kainat Khoso, born in Hyderabad in 1997, graduated from CEAD in 2019. Due to her interest in literature she selected the theme of “existence to fatality” by using the aquatint and etching techniques of printmaking. She plays with vibrant colour inks to create multiple images. Her exploration of multiple techniques makes encourages her to do more in the future.

Niaz Shah Baloch from Gwadar has graduated from CEAD with remarkable achievements. He portrays the issues of the people living in Balochistan with various beautiful visuals in the form of sculptural reliefs. He picturises Gwadar and the lifestyles of the common people.

Qurat-ul-ain Memon, born in Dadu in 1998, graduated with honours from CEAD. She has participated in various exhibitions and competitions, including ‘We the Peoples, We the Arts’ at the PNCA. She loves to play with dark and light colours to create shadows. Her thesis is based on observing the absence of objects through shadows, like negatives and positives representing life in a different way.

Tayiba Aziz, born in 1997 in Hyderabad, graduated with honours from CEAD in 2019. She participated in various national and international exhibitions. Her work is a narrative of her journey with personal spaces. She loves to paint her journey with the object of doors. Through her imagery, she preserves rusted and rotten doors. To create the feel of memories she renders objects with intricate details in different media, including printing and painting techniques.

Tooba Jawed Shaikh, born in 1998 in Hyderabad, graduated from CEAD in 2019 with miniature painting as her major. Her thesis is based on local slangs of Pakistan. The artworks reflect the way certain groups of people or friends communicate with each other.

Tufail Ahmed Mirbahar, born in 1998 in District Sukkur’s Pano Akil tehsil, was inspired by his uncle Waliullah Mirani, who is a miniature painter. Following in his uncle’s footsteps, he completed his art education from CEAD with miniature as his major. Instead of carrying on with the traditional subject of Mughal miniature, he has selected contemporary themes to portray his thoughts on the impact of social media in our daily lives.

Ume Rubab Buriro, born in Hyderabad in 1997, graduated from CEAD in 2019. She selected painting as her major. Her thesis topic is contemporary drawing, in which she uses household objects to explore line rhythm and repetition. She got honours in her final thesis.

Wania Shaikh graduated from CEAD in 2019. She has participated in various national and international art competitions and exhibitions. Her work is based on alternate perceptions of beautiful glamorised advertisement posters through a variety of iconic paintings of the masters.

The Sindh High Court has constituted a judicial commission to inspect the hospitals, offices of the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI) and the Workers Welfare Board and submit a report about the implementation of the laws in this regard.

The direction came during a hearing of a petition of Niaz Mohammad seeking the payment of compensation money and adoption of safety measures for employees at workplaces.

A division bench, headed by Justice Salahuddin Panwhar, observed that the industry of a nation was always the backbone of its economy which normally depended on the labour class; therefore, the rights and interests of the labourers needed to be given due weight and importance.

The petitioner’s family member, Mohammad Amir, and five others employees of a car-making factory had lost their lives during a blast in the factory furnace on November 15, 2018. The petitioner has demanded action against the factory management, compensation and safety measures for the workers in the factory.

The SESSI commissioner submitted a report with regard to details of expenditures of the last 10 years as well details of staff, hospitals in their domain and other affiliated departments. He submitted that in case of the demise of any labourer (secured worker) or illness, the Workers Welfare Board was to act under the Worker Welfare Board Act and it had its separate budget.

The high court observed that such a facility must always be in easy access because the labour class normally did not have sufficient means to stand back on their feet after unexpected incidents; therefore, the importance and role of the budget of the Workers Welfare Board and SESSI could not be denied.

It constituted a judicial commission comprising a senior civil judge of Shikarpur, who will visit all hospitals, SESSI offices and the Workers Welfare Board and examine their record.

The court directed the judicial officer to submit a report on whether the existing mechanism for fixing wages was implemented in letter and spirit and whether ordinary workers were aware about SESSI, the wage board, the Worker Welfare Board and had access to them.

It further told the inquiry officer to examine as to whether the mechanism to avail the facility was easily accessible so as to ensure timely help or whether it needed improvements, and if so what steps could further make it more convenient and easy accessible.

The commission will examine if the methods adopted by SESSI and the Workers Welfare Board are comprehensive so as to register workers and the payment of the fixed amount was as provided under the act and rules and if not what steps needed to be taken.

It will submit a report on whether the mechanism for the distribution of budget funds was prima facie was eliminating the possibilities of illegalities and whether there was prima facie illegality requiring auditing of utilisation of budget/funds or criminal negligence on the part of SESSI and board; besides, it will also examine any malfeasance committed by SESSI and the board.

The court observed that incidents in factories normally happen while dealing with the inflammation material, chemicals and other mechanical instruments, which normally revolve around negligence or lack of required facilities (security measures); therefore, investigation into such incidents is not an ordinary task which can be undertaken by an ordinary police officer, who is normally not trained for probing such incidents.

The court observed that the labour department will come forward and submit a mechanism with regard to investigation of incidents of industry and all the relevant departments, including labour, and SESSI will provide complete assistance to the labour department for such an exercise.

The counsel for the respondents submitted that investigation of the factory incident was carried out, factory owners had provided all funds to the labour department, and police were cooperated in the investigation. The court directed the authorities concerned to submit the compliance report by February 10.

As many as 535 degrees were conferred at the third convocation of the Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) on Sunday.

In the convocation, 15 students received gold medals in the fields of Medicine, Pharmacy, Public Health and Business Health Care Management.

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail was the chief guest. Speaking on the occasion, the governor congratulated the varsity for successfully holding its third convocation and urged the students to play an effective role in the field of health.

“With the help of you education and skills you should assist the government to make health facilities better,” he said.

The governor assured the students that there would not be any hurdle in their academic activities following the federal government’s control of the varsity’s teaching hospitals. He expressed his concerns over the poor state of health sector in rural Sindh.

Talking about the youth employment programme of Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said the students could get loans and start their own businesses.

JSMU Vice Chancellor Syed Muhammad Tariq Rafiq appealed to the students to practice their profession in remote areas of the province.

He said the students should serve the suffering humanity with their academic capabilities.

He also apprised the governor of problems being faced by the varsity’s teaching hospitals, namely the Jinnah Post Medical and Graduate Centre, the National Institute of Child Heath, the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, which are being taken over by the federal government.

The teaching hospitals had so far been operating under the Sindh Medical College for the last 46 years, he added. An honorary doctorate degree was conferred on philanthropist Sardar Yaseen Malik in the convocation for his services in the field of education.

The ArtChowk Gallery has been hosting Riffat Alvi and Aliya Husain Ahmad’s ceramic art exhibition titled ‘Modern Contemporary’. The two-person show will run until December 25.

According to the statement released by the gallery, Riffat is renowned for her work in ceramics and the third dimension. Her use of earth as pigments is her novel technique that has created great interest internationally.

She has travelled extensively and shown her works within and outside Pakistan, with her unique visual perception that creates an immediate impact on the viewer.

Riffat ran the VM Art Gallery for three decades as its director and has created it as a base for shows from Europe and the Americas. She singlehandedly started the “emerging artists” platform that has launched some of our internationally renowned artists of today. But her most important legacy remains her own art.

The statement said that though Aliya was born in Pakistan, she is a true “citizen of the world”. She has spent much of her life on the move. She has lived in Pakistan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Toronto, London and Dubai, and now calls Bahrain her home.

She is a self-taught ceramic artist and has enjoyed the process of educating herself in the art field by researching, reading and experimenting. She studied jewellery design at Toronto’s George Brown College, allowing her to incorporate metalsmith techniques in her work as well as to create jewellery out of earthenware.

Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) Chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal on Sunday claimed that due to poor economic policies, Pakistan has been making compromises on the foreign front.

He was addressing a training session of party workers outside the Pakistan House, the headquarters of the party.

Kamal said that during the sidelines of the UN session, Prime Minister Imran Khan had suggested that there should be a strong Muslim block and a TV channel for Muslims to project the true image of Islam globally.

However, instead of ensuring his participation in the Kuala Lumpur Summit, the PM first said he would send the foreign minister on his behalf, but at the 11th hour, he stopped even the FM from participating in the mega event of the Muslim block, added the PSP chief.

Kamal claimed that the premier’s move has badly damaged the unity of the Muslim Ummah and has isolated Pakistan in the Islamic community. He condemned PM Khan’s decision to skip the Malaysia summit.

Police on Sunday found the body of a driver at a bungalow in Phase-II of the Defence Housing Authority.

The man was identified as 32-year-old Nadir Ali.

After police and rescuers were called in, the body was moved to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for an autopsy.

According to a preliminary investigation, the deceased was driver by profession and used to live at the bungalow’s servant quarter.

You think you know me!

The Sanat Initiative is hosting Irfan Gul Dahri’s solo art exhibition titled ‘You think you know me!’ until January 7. Call 0300-8208108 for more information.

The National Academy of Performing Arts is hosting a play based on Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’. Translated by Khalid Ahmad and directed by Zia Mohyeddin, the play is running until December 29. Call 021-35693701 for more information.

The VM Centre for Traditional Arts (VMCTA) in partnership with the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts is hosting the VMCTA’s ‘Graduation Exhibition 2019’ until January 4 at the VM Art Gallery. Call 021-34948088 for more information.

The Koel Gallery is hosting Nurjahan Akhlaq’s solo art exhibition titled ‘Saving Daylight’ until December 27. Call 021-35831292 for more information.

The ArtChowk Gallery is hosting Riffat Alvi and Aliya Husain Ahmad’s ceramic art exhibition titled ‘Modern Contemporary’ until December 25. Call 021-35300482 for more information.

The Full Circle Gallery is hosting Umer Bhatti and Umer Rehman’s art exhibition titled ‘Self Introspection’ until December 26. Call 0303-2239038 for more information.

The AAN Gandhara Art Space is hosting an art exhibition titled ‘I Love You & Other Works From The AAN Collection’ until January 5. The show features works by Bani Abidi, Khadim Ali, Aisha Khalid, Imran Qureshi and Anushka Rustomji. Call 021-35821462 for more information.

Sindh’s information minister has censured the Pakistan Railways’ denial of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) request to run a special train service between Karachi and Rawalpindi on the 12th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to be commemorated in a public meeting at Pindi’s Liaquat National Bagh on December 27.

A statement issued by the PPP quoted Saeed Ghani as saying that the Pakistan Railways had rejected the application of the party’s Karachi division despite initially providing assurances contrary to the decision.

The provincial information minister claimed that the management of the Pakistan Railways had taken such a decision in order to demonstrate its political animosity towards the PPP.

“We had been repeatedly given assurances by the Pakistan Railways’ administration when we contacted them, and now when we have completed all of our preparations, the management has turned down our request without mentioning any reason,” said Ghani.

“We had been repeatedly told that a response would be given to us in a day or two,” said the information minister, who is also the president of the PPP’s Karachi chapter. “We had even assured them of making a payment in advance to reserve the entire train.”

He said that thousands of supporters of the Peoples Party based in Karachi were completely prepared to go to Rawalpindi to attend the programme to mark Benazir’s death anniversary.

He added that they were of the viewpoint that the Pakistan Railways had expressed its animosity against the PPP on the direction of Federal Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed.

Ghani said that Benazir’s stature as a political leader was of international level, adding that she did not just belong to Sindh or even Pakistan. The attitude of the Pakistan Railways’ administration is condemnable, he added.

On the other hand, it has been reported that according to a senior Pakistan Railways official, they were unable to run a special train service on Benazir’s death anniversary due to overcrowding of passengers on trains as a result of winter holidays of students.

PPP Karachi General Secretary Jawed Nagori had submitted an application for the special train service to the divisional superintendent of the Pakistan Railways in Karachi on December 11.

Through the application the PPP asked the DS to run a special train service having 12 carriages on the occasion of Benazir’s death anniversary, with the train leaving Karachi on December 25 and starting the return journey from Rawalpindi on December 27.

Two bodies of unidentified men were left on the premises of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) on Saturday morning.

Some people had brought the bodies to the JPMC emergency ward, saying that they had found the two men unconscious.

Saddar SHO Arshad Afridi said responding to the information, police went to the hospital from where they moved the bodies to a mortuary for medical examination.

He added that the identities of the deceased men had not been established till Saturday night. Moreover, the cause of their deaths is yet to be ascertained as there are no visible torture or bullet marks on the bodies.

The cause of their deaths would be clear after the post-mortem reports, the SHO said, adding that police had obtained CCTV footage which showed people who had brought the bodies and the vehicle they had used.

Investigators said after obtaining the footage, they questioned the security guard deployed at the emergency ward who narrated that the bodies were brought in a rickshaw and a taxi car. Those who had brought the bodies said they had found the two men unconscious so they took them to the hospital and later left its premises. Police have also taken the fingerprints of the deceased.

An anti-terrorism court on Saturday indicted a religious preacher on charges of financing militant organisations, including the al-Qaeda, for carrying out terrorist activities.

The ATC-II framed charges against Abdul Rehman alias Sindhi, 54, after he denied the allegations levelled against him by the Counter Terrorism Department.

Inspector Fayyaz Qadri of the CTD said the suspect was primarily associated with the Harkatul Jihadul Islami and ran a seminary, Jamiatul Umar, spread on eight acres in Gadap Town on the outskirts of the city.

He added that the suspect was booked in the terror financing case on November 20 on the reccomendation of the Federal Investigation Agency in the light of their report on suspicious transactions allegedly made through the bank accounts operated by him.

The suspect has been on the sanctions list of the United Nations Security Council since 2012 and was also arrested earlier on the same allegations but was released later after the prosecution failed to prove the charges.

The police had then alleged that Rehman had links with al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden and his successor Ayman al-Zawahiri. He also had close links with Saud Memon, a key suspect in the kidnap and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. The court has summoned witnesses against him on December 23.

Terror facilitation case

The same court adjourned the hearing of a terror facilitation case against former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain and others till January 11, 2020.

The court was scheduled to resume the hearing of the cross examination of prosecution witness Rangers officer Inayatullah Durrani by the defence lawyers, but the witness did not appear.

Special Public Prosecutor Sajid Mehboob Shaikh told the judge that Durrani was ill and could not make it to the court. Durrani had lodged the FIR against the accused in 2015.

Besides Hussain, who is the owner of the Ziauddin Univeristy and Hospitals, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, Pak Sarzameen Party President Anis Kaimkhani, former commerce and industries minister Rauf Siddiqui, Pasban General Secretary Usman Moazzam and others have been implicated in the case.

The Sindh Rangers on Saturday claimed to have killed a hitman and arrested two others after injuring them during a pre-dawn shootout on the outskirts of Karachi.

The spokesman for the paramilitary force said the soldiers had received credible intelligence-based information that notorious target killers were hiding in the Manghopir neighbourhood of Gadap Town.

He said that taking action on the information received, the Rangers, with the assistance of the local police, conducted a raid in the area. When the suspects saw the raiding team approach, they opened fire on them.

The Rangers and police officials countered the pre-emptive attack and, after a brief encounter, arrested three injured suspects. The detainees were identified as Abdullah Mehsud, Shabbirullah, alias Sheena, and Muhammad Sohail, while two others managed to escape from the scene.

The wounded suspects were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where Mehsud succumbed to his injuries. The raiding team also seized a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, as well as two motorbikes that had been snatched in Manghopir two days ago.

The Rangers spokesman said Mehsud’s gang consisted of 10 members, who were involved in robberies and kidnappings for ransom, as well as in targeting law enforcers.

Detailing the criminal activities of the gang, he said that during March this year they had shot and injured a man and two women at the Sohrab Goth Bridge after the family refused to fulfil the criminals’ demand for extortion.

The gang also shot at police constables Abid Ali and Tariq the following month, as well as killed Samiullah and Gul Aaka Khel in July near the Indus Plaza in Sohrab Goth. That same month they had a shootout with the police in Ghanjaar Goth, but they managed to flee.

The criminals had shot and injured a Rangers soldier in Manghopir during a mugging attempt, while this month they attacked a van of the forensic department of the police in the Sachal police jurisdiction and managed to escape.

The spokesman for the paramilitary force said the gang had been very much active in the Sohrab Goth, Ghanjaar Goth, Gulshan-e-Maymar, New Karachi, Manghopir, Super Highway and Sabzi Mandi areas under Mehsud’s command.

21 more suspects held

During more targeted raids conducted in different parts of the city, the Rangers soldiers arrested 21 suspects. They also seized weapons, looted items and narcotics from the detainees and handed over the suspects and the recovered items to the police.

The Rangers spokesman said the soldiers conducted a targeted raid in Sohrab Goth and arrested a man named Muhammad Hussain for his involvement in kidnappings.

The paramilitary force arrested 14 more suspects during raids carried out in the Gadap City, Mobina Town, Garden, Brigade, Nazimabad, Saeedabad and Kharadar areas of the city.

The detainees were identified as Noor Alam, Muhammad Rizwan, Naseer Ahmed, Muhammad Salman, Asif Ali, Salman Khan, alias Shuna Khan, Muhammad Shani, Muhammad Asif, alias Shakir, Muhammad Sufian, Shahid, alias Dada, Ahmed, alias Shahrukh, Shahzeb, Muhammad Arsalan and Nadeem. The spokesman said they were involved in robberies and street crime.

The Rangers troops have also conducted

During their raids in the Gadap, Kalakot and Jackson areas, the Rangers arrested Rahim Khan, Rehman Gul, Jamil, Kashif, Noor Islam and Tariq Khan for their involvement in operating drug dens in their respective areas.