Ruckus in Sindh Assembly as MQM protests killing of worker

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers on Monday protested in the Sindh Assembly against the killing of party activist Muhammad Hashim.

Over a dozen MQM lawmakers stood before Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani holding photographs of the deceased, shouting slogans. Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah was present in the Assembly and looked to his party officials to resolve the matter.

Durrani said that if the sloganeering does not end, he will have no choice but to adjourn the session. PPP's Nisar Khuhro also appealed to the protesting MQM MNAs to take their seats, but to no avail. As PPP lawmakers stood from the benches to approach the protesting MNAs, a minor scuffle broke out.

Early on Monday, MQM called for a shutter-down strike in Karachi to be observed over the killing of MQM worker Muhammad Hashim but withdrew the strike call after assurances by the Sindh Rangers to probe the murder of the activist.

MQM MPA Azeem Farooqui while speaking to the press outside the Sindh Assembly called for the arrest of Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah.

He said MQM activist Muhammad Hashim was "kidnapped or arrested" outside party headquarters Nine Zero three months ago. "We filed a petition and kept looking for him, but did not find him," he said, adding that the worker's body had been found dumped near a Loni Kot police station.

"When I tried to bring the matter up in the Sindh Assembly, the Speaker did not give me permission to speak," he said, adding, "So tell me where we should go to bring up this issue." "It is not just about Hashim," he continued, "130 of our workers are missing, more than 700 are in jails and thousands have been murdered." "We are thankful to the DG Rangers for saying Hashim's murderer would be arrested," Farooqui said, referring to the Rangers' assurances to probe the MQM activist's murder.

"The captain of this entire operation is a murderer," he said, adding that "The CM should be arrested immediately, because he did not hear us out ... There should be an investigation into this matter and cases should be filed against these people." "When we try to raise our voices, they quote the law at us. Where was the law when we were picking up the bodies of our workers?" he asked. "When we presented the resolution against Zardari, he got up and left. Now all of the PPP's secrets will come out," he said.

MQM leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan called for the Rangers to be granted the same powers in the province of Sindh that they have been given in Karachi. He said the Rangers would, in collaboration with the National Accountability Bureau and the Federal Investigation Agency, eradicate terrorism and corruption in the entire province.