About 200,000 people Arrested in Sindh
There are reports which are coming in for the past few days that a major crackdown is underway in Sindh specially targeting the workers of Pakistan People Party to an extent that there are official reports of around 0.2 million people that have been arrested for their involvement and activities in the rioting following the 27th Dec assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The estimates as reported in Dawn today narrate the official figure to hover somewhere around 200,000.
- 227 FIRs have been registered for 91,571 people in Thatta
- 167 FIRs have been registered for 81,840 people in Hyderabad
- 264 FIRs have been registered for 1,232 people in Khairpur
- 500 FIRs have been registered for 474 people in Nawabshah
Its is surprising that even a week after the incident the police has been able to identify the culprits of the crime, the ‘official’ reason for these mass arrests happens to be their involvement in riots and looting that took place throughout the country in the days after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. A number of Human Rights Activists working in these areas say that these mass arrests have nothing to do with those riots but instead are geared towards rounding up all opposition in an attempt to defuse their activities in the upcoming elections.
This apparently seems to be a strategic move by the ruling party (PML-Q) to irritate the Sindhi faction to rise up and agitate against the government hence forcing the bureaucracy to yet delay of the elections, technically another delay in these elections only helps PML-Q to and detrimentally defuses the PPP and its sweeping sympathetic vote
Let us here in Karachi not forget the fact that on May 12th 2007 when this city erupted in a street massacre which was caught on tape, NOT A SINGLE person was arrested let alone be brought to justice and when the judiciary took steps to bring the administration responsible to task, the ruling party brought the entire court system to a standstill.
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What is happening with our country? We are breaking it up with our own bear hands. We are creating hate among provinces.
First they engineered BB’s killing and now they are creating this hate.
It seems Indians are running our country or in simple words our former enemies are controlling affairs in Pakistan.
One thing to note, the article says that nearly 200,000 FIRS were registered, however it lists a total under a thousand actually arrested. This is an important distinction. I don’t know if there’s the capacity to actually keep 200,000 people under arrest, even if its house arrest.
If true, PPP should campaign “Free Sindh” from Pakistan.
This is ridiculous. Like Asmana I’m wondering how this is even possible. Perhaps grant freedom to militants and free up some space. Said militants free to bomb election rallys, some FIRs no longer needed.