Daily Times

KARACHI: After spending over three weeks investigating knife attack suspects Waseem and Shehzad, police sped up its operations and detained around 50 more in a bid to catch the ‘knifeman(s)’.

According to reports, those arrested were mostly of a young age and with no connection to the knife attacks. Most of the detained were released after bribing the police, sources said.

Political workers belonging to major political parties were also among the detainees.

The overnight operations were carried out in parts of District East including Gulshan-e-lqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Shahrah-e-Faisal, PIB Colony and New Town.

Police officials said police had also detained workers of different political parties including Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan, Muttahida Quami Movement-London, Pakistan People’s Party and Pak Sarzameen Party.

Police officials said most of the suspects were released after investigations revealed they were not involved in the knife attacks. “We detained some 50 suspects”, confirmed District East SSP Samiullah Soomro. “Some 27 suspects have so far been released after they were found not involved during initial investigations”, he said

SSP Soomro said about 50 per cent of the detainees belonged to political parties, adding that police took action, particularly against the political workers after getting intelligence reports of their suspicious involvements.

Families of the detainees staged a protest against their loved ones’ apprehensions.

The demonstrators protested outside Gulshan-e-lqbal police station and demanded immediate release of those arrested. The families claimed that most of the arrested were students and detained for no reason.

So far at least 13 women had been injured in several incidents in parts of District East including Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Dalmia, Rashid Minhas Road, Pehlwan Goth and PIB Colony, while over a dozen similar cases were reported since September 25.

Published in Daily Times, October 21^st 2017.