Zaidi among PTI leaders charged with terror over alleged attack on DC office

KARACHI: Karachi police have filed a case against Ali Haider Zaidi, president of the Sindh chapter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and 17 other workers of the opposition party on charges of terrorism after rival political activists clashed outside the Keamari deputy commissioner’s office.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening, following the controversial results of Sunday’s local government elections, which were called into question by the PTI and Jamaat-i-Islami. Workers from these parties took to the streets on Wednesday to protest.

The second phase of the local government elections was held in 16 districts of Sindh on Sunday. The results have been met with concerns from major contesting parties, including the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who blame the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for mismanagement and an unusual delay in results in Karachi.

The altercation between PTI and PPP workers began outside the official’s office, where the PTI accused the PPP of attacking its workers, while the deputy commissioner claimed workers of the former forcibly entered his office and harassed staff.

Following the incident, Site-A police registered a complaint against Zaidi, among others. The complaint was filed by Kashif Mobin, the district manager of the People’s Service Centre at the office.

According to the FIR, which was filed at 7:20 pm Wednesday, the charges include Section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-terrorism Act, 2017 along with Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence committed in prosecution of common object), 324 (attempt to commit qatl-i-amd), 506-b (punishment for criminal intimidation), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 380 (theft in dwelling house, etc), and 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

According to Mobin, around 150-200 PTI workers, led by Zaidi, attacked the DC office while chanting slogans and armed with weapons, canes, and sticks. The attackers allegedly started beating up people and firing shots, spreading fear and injuring at least three people.

The FIR also states that the workers pelted stones at the office and destroyed furniture, windows, and doors, and stole various valuable items, including laptops.

Station House Officer (SHO) Zulfiqar Ali Bajwa stated that no one has been arrested so far.

JAMAAT WORKERS ALSO BOOKED

Separately, Aziz Bhatti police also filed an FIR against 14 named workers of Jamaat-i-Islami and unidentified others on the complaint of a returning officer, Shahana Rizwan. In an incident late Wednesday night, Rizwan alleged that around 300-400 party workers attacked her car.

The FIR has been registered under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence committed in prosecution of common object), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the PPC.

According to Rizwan, she was leaving the camp office at 9:40 pm Wednesday after the recounting of votes had been completed when party workers attacked her with the “common intention” to allegedly kill her, following which the Aziz Bhatti police station SHO and other policemen helped her get into her car.

Jamaat workers allegedly hit Rizwan’s car with ballot boxes and stones, causing significant damage to her car and injuring her driver.

Rizwan also claimed that even though the representatives of all three parties — PPP, PTI and Jamaat — were present inside the camp office during the votes’ recounting, Jamaat workers had been chanting slogans outside the Federal Urdu University’s gate and attempting to enter inside, causing a delay in the completion of the recounting process.

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