Hours ahead of former president Asif Ali Zardari’s arrival in Karachi, Rangers raided multiple offices of his close aide Anwar Majid.
Officials of the paramilitary force confiscated records and detained five office bearers after raids at Anwar Majid’s offices located near II Chundrigar Road, Hockey Stadium and Hotel Metropole in the metropolis. Weapons were also recovered during the raids.
The first raid was carried out at Omni office at II Chundrigar Road and two employees were detained. The Rangers team then raided offices near Hockey Stadium and Hotel Metropole.
Majid has been involved in transfers and postings of police officers in Sindh Police and is believed to be playing a vital role to remove Sindh IG AD Khawaja from his post.
Earlier this week, Sindh IG AD Khawaja was reportedly sent on a ‘forced leave’ owing to differences with Majeed. “The appointment of District Malir’s former SSP Rao Anwar and a recent dispute between IGP Khawaja and one of Zardari’s close aides – businessman Anwar Majid – after a police raid are the major reasons for sending him on leave,” a senior police official had told The South Punjab News .
Anwar Majid is a Karachi-based businessman and a close friend of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
Zardari returns from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan at the end of his self-imposed exile today after a year and a half. The PPP leader had left the country in June last year following a hard-hitting speech that criticised the establishment for over-stepping its domain, thereby offending it. Since then, he divided his time between Dubai and London.
Rangers statement
Pakistan Rangers Sindh on Friday afternoon released information regarding raids conducted at offices located on I.I. Chundrigar Road and near the hockey stadium. The offices are said to belong to a close aide of Asif Ali Zardari.
Geo News, citing Rangers sources, reported that the offices belong to a company owned by Anwar Majeed who is a close associate of former President Asif Ali Zardari.
According to the statement issued by the Rangers PRO, the raids were conducted on verified reports regarding the presence of illegal arms and ammunition and involvement of arrested suspects in facilitating miscreants.
The Rangers press release also listed details of the arms seized during the raids which included 17 AK47 assault rifles, 4 hand guns, 9 ball bombs and 3,325 rounds of live ammunition.
Important documents were also seized during the raids. After verification of the weapons and ammunition, action would be taken against the facilitators and the owners of the property from where the cache was seized, the Rangers statement said.
The raids coincided with Zardari's return home after living 18 months in Dubai.
Four people were taken into custody during the raid at the I.I. Chundrigar office, while the admin manager from the office near Hockey Stadium was detained.
They were identified as Shehzad Shahid, Rajab Ali Rajpar, Ajmal Khan, Kamran Muneer Ansari and Kashif Hussain Shah.
Among them, the arrest of Kamran Muneer Ansari is being seen as highly important. He is said to be the man who supervises the sugar mill and all financial affairs of Majeed.
Rangers sources further said that the individuals taken into custody have been shifted to an unknown location for interrogation.
Meanwhile, personnel of a law enforcement agency rounded up another high-profile suspect from Defence area of the megapolis on Friday afternoon, sources said. The suspect, Nasir, was said to be a confidant of former DG Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) Manzoor Kaka.
Kaka, who has fled the country, is wanted by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Chandio voices concerns over Karachi raids
Voicing concerns over the raids in Karachi, Adviser to Sindh CM on Information Maula Bux Chandio said neither the Sindh government, nor police were taken into confidence on the snoops.
"After bitter statements by Chaudhry Nisar, a wrong impression was given that the searches were linked with political matters," he said.
"We never opposed any action," the provincial adviser noted, adding: "There had been unrest in Karachi for a long time, and it was because of police and Rangers that peace was restored in the megapolis"
"However, these raids appeared to victimise political rivals," Chandio added.
He said that his party created conducive atmosphere and dispelled the perception of any differences within the institutions, but Friday's raids undermined those efforts.Senior journalist Mazhar Abbas said that the timing of the raids was critical. “It is a message that the Karachi Operation will continue without any hiccups,” he said, adding that the Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah did not have any knowledge of the raid.
Mazhar Abbas said that Rangers had seized records from the offices, which may have details of transfer posting of officials or properties.
Senior journalist and host of program 'Capital Talk', Hamid Mir said that senior party leaders of the PPP were not in favour of Asif Ali Zardari’s return.
“They feared a case will be filed against him. When Zardari did not listen to them, they asked Bilawal to convince him. Otherwise Zardari wanted to return before General (Retd) Raheel Sharif resigned,” said Hamid Mir.
The senior journalist added that Zardari had by now come to know of the raids.
