Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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**MQM announces Friday to be day of mourning **

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Thursday announced that the party will hold a peaceful day of mourning in Sindh on Friday, Express News reported.

He was addressing an emergency press conference held by the party on Thursday after bodies of four of its workers, whose bodies were found on April 30 in the Malir Memon Goth area of Karachi, were identified by their family members.

**Siddiqui said that people have voluntarily started closing their shops in the city ** and assured that the day of mourning will be absolutely peaceful.

Businesses and public transport in Karachi closed/stayed off the roads soon after the announcement.

Karachi Transport Union President Irshad Bukhari said that members of his association would not take the risk to run their transport, while All Karachi Traders Union President Atiq Mir said markets and shops would be closed.

Private Schools Management Association also announced that schools would be off on Friday.

After the announcement businesses started closing down and there were incidents of aerial firing in several areas of the city. Public transport had also ceased operation in the city.

A similar situation was observed in Hyderabad, Express News reported. ** Unknown individuals forcefully closed down businesses in various areas of the city.**

Full Report:
MQM announces Friday to be day of mourning – The Express Tribune

Somethings just won’t go away from your mind.

When PTI had blocked Nato supplies in November last year, Kamran Khan of Geo dedicated a segment of his programme on the impact of the closure on transporters in Karachi. Salim Safi in Girga showed interviews of shop owners who were having adverse effects on their businesses due to an interchange blockade.

If the free and fair media in the country has the guts to live up to its slogans of independence and fair play, will it dare to present statistics on the number of mourning days the MQM observes routinely and the monetary consequence these shutdowns have on the economic hub of the country?

If not, then will the media just try to educate us as to how these mourning days help stop “extra-judicial killings” and bring peace to the bleeding city? How effective these mourning days have been and how the whole country needs to emulate MQM throughout the country to win justice and bring in peace?

If I know anything about the ‘free and fair media’ of the country, it would be already busy in chalking out ways to roast Imran Khan for this upcoming protests while siding with the MQM for the same.

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

Why is this day of mourning?

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

^ Four missing MQM workers were found dead today.

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

^ ab to Hukoomat meN aa gayii hai MQM…ab kis baat kaa ronaa hai? :hmmm:

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

Well, may be the ‘rona’ is about their members being murdered?!

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi


baadshaah Khud masaa'il Hal kartaa hai...kisii vazeer ke aage rotaa aur faryaad nahiiN kartaa. Theek?

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

Typical goon mentality, typical ways of a mafia party. Just shut down the entire City. Just shut down the financial capital of Pakistan at whim. Completely disturb the local economy and lives of millions ordinary and innocent locals because the party that calls for these criminal protests has actually done nothing, nothing at all to solve the law and order of the City they'd been controlling since last three decades.

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

It is very complicated , There are multidimensional conflicts , interests and approaches . Political , institutional and commercial reasons behind . There are now rivalries like tribes . Dirty approaches to survive .
Only democratic approach can make it better

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

To my huge surprise, Kamran Khan asked Faisal Sabzwari almost all the questions that troubled me every time a mourning day was announced and observed. Do the killers get the message and they stop abducting people and throwing dead bodies because of observing Youm-e-sog? Kamran rightfully ask that the kids who cannot go to school, the students whose examinations are cancelled, the shopkeepers who have to keep their shutters down and the transporters who keep their vehicles off the roads have to suffer because of complete shutdowns almost every month.

The questions were very pertinent and as expected, the advisor to the CM of Sindh had no solid answer to offer, except rhetoric.

After the successful Youm-e-Sog on Friday, Farooq Sattar has given the Sindh government another ultimatum of 72 hours to produce all of MQM's abducted members, failing which MQM will announce its next programme.

This time it will be a strike instead of a mourning day.

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

Ganja instead of kissing the arses of colonial masters just to get few words of praise for his Punjab’s Showbaz, should look into this very seriously. How in the hack Pakistan will survive if strikes like these crippled the whole economy of the country.

**Closure causes Rs20bn trade loss - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
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KARACHI: Trading and industrial activities remained paralysed on Friday due to a mourning day observed by the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) over the killing of its four workers on Thursday.

Although petrol stations started opening by 5pm, most of markets and commercial centres failed to operate as there were few buyers and most of the shops remained closed. The markets wore a deserted look on Thursday evening as the MQM announced its plan for a protest.

According to Atiq Mir, chairman, All-Karachi Tajir Ittehad, overall loss stood at Rs15-20 billion owing to closure of markets and commercial centres from Thursday evening.

The closure of commercial activities usually causes trade loss of Rs3bn to 4bn, while another loss of Rs4 to 5bn is suffered on account of closure of customs clearance and shipping activities. Yet another loss of Rs7 to Rs8bn is suffered owing to loss production activities in industrial areas as well as exports.

The worst-hit were three million daily wagers in the city. The salaried people could not draw their salaries, and they have to wait till Monday for the opening of banks, he said.

Atiq Mir said there was a bit delay in the announcement regarding resumption of trading activities. As a result, many traders opted to stay at homes due to limited business hours.

Site Association of Industry President Younus M. Bashir estimated Rs4 to 5bn production loss in Site alone due to closure of more than 3,500 units where 500,000 permanent, contractual and daily wagers are employed.

FB Area Association of Trade and Industry (FBATI) chairman Sheikh Mohammad Tehseen said some 10-15pc of small to medium-sized units remained completely closed while units which remained open recorded only 25-30pc production activities due to thin attendance.

Former President of North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry Faraz Mirza claimed complete production halt in over 2,000 units in North Karachi.

Korangi Association of Trade and Industry’s former president Zubair Chahya claimed that majority of the units, out of 4,000, remained inoperative.

MQM accuses Rangers of killing four workers - Pakistan - DAWN.COM

KARACHI: Accusing Rangers of being involved in the “extrajudicial killing” of four workers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the MQM on Friday warned of staging demonstrations on highways in Sindh if the killers were not arrested in 72 hours.

Addressing a press conference, MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar appealed to Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to direct Corps Commander Karachi Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani to hold an inquiry into the killings.

He also called upon the prime minister to appoint a judicial commission to investigate the incident and ensure recovery of “missing workers” of the MQM in 72 hours.

Dr Sattar said that MQM was a responsible party which did not unnecessarily blame any individual or institution.

He said the party believed that some Rangers personnel were involved in illegal arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings.

He said the four activists, whose bullet-riddled bodies were found in Memon Goth on Wednesday, had been picked up along with two comrades allegedly by the Rangers and officials in plain clothes from the Country Towers apartments on April 13. The workers were first taken to a Rangers checkpost near Al-Asif Square at Sohrab Goth from where they were shifted to an undisclosed location. “Whereabouts of two missing workers are yet to be known.”

Dr Sattar said the MQM would submit evidence if the prime minister constituted a judicial commission.

He appealed to the human rights organisations and civil society to raise voice against “enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killing” of political activists in Sindh, particularly Karachi.

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Re: Yet another day of mourning in Karachi

Instead of asking for Federal intervention (which at this point seems necessary), why isn't provincial government putting it's foot down to tell MQM that enough of this economic terrorism?