Addressing an American audience at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington on Monday, the PPP Chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, explicitly charge-sheeted the Pakistani law enforcing agencies on the recent PIA killings in Karachi.
Without naming these agencies, the top PPP leader said, “Just a couple of days ago, members of our airline union were shot and killed in broad daylight by our law enforcement agencies while protesting the government’s plan.”
Officially, there is no final word from the Sindh government, the Centre or the law enforcing agencies as to who killed the two PIA officials during their recent protest in Karachi. The PIA union leaders initially alleged that the Rangers opened the fire but it was denied by the Rangers’ spokesman.
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, in a statement, had committed that a judicial inquiry will be ordered into these PIA killings. DG Rangers Maj Gen Bilal Akbar also committed to get the matter investigated. Later, the CM did not order any judicial inquiry but the DG Rangers set up a committee under a serving brigadier to probe the matter.
The PIA union in its FIR, lodged with the Karachi Police, also named some federal ministers and others but did not involve the Rangers or any other law enforcing agency for these killings.
Still the PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto opted to hold the law enforcers responsible for these killings during his ongoing visit to the US. In an apparent reference to the Karachi Rangers with whom the PPP leadership is uncomfortable for the last several months, Bilawal added, “Counter terrorism forces have no business suppressing legitimate democratic opposition or the people’s right to protest.”
In the same speech, he also sounded the PPP’s known reservations on certain aspects of the Rangers-led Karachi operation. He said, “We are also in danger of undermining the consensus built to fight religious terrorism and extremism as powers granted to the federal government for this task are used beyond the given mandate.”
He warned, “We cannot afford for our young counter-terrorism operation to be made controversial or politicised. Nor can we sustain a counter-terrorism effort without a counter-extremism effort.”
Bilawal said the federal government was pursuing a policy of political victimisation against the parties who have strong policies against extremism and terrorism. Bans, for example, on publishing or telecasting speeches of the leader of secular MQM, political cases against members of the ANP, MQM, and PPP – especially under the guise of anti-terrorism laws – is not only wrong but also dangerous and undermines this government’s legitimacy, he said, adding, “It allows terrorists to also claim persecution at the hands of the state. This must end.”
Saying that the powers granted to the government to tackle terrorism should not be used to silence the political dissent, Bilawal referred to the recent PIA killings in Karachi and held law enforcement agencies responsible for the broad daylight murder of two airlines officials.
In the same speech, he however admitted that the Karachi operation has produced results and resulted in a drastic drop in crime rates. “While the slums of Lyari in particular have become more peaceful and networks of criminal gangs have been dismantled, it would be dishonest of me to claim that we have beaten extremism or terrorism.”
- See more at: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/97242-Bilawal-Bhutto-accuses-law-enforcers-of-PIA-killings#sthash.wv2oPoyF.dpuf
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