Rangers free Non-Militant Sunni Tehreek chief after brief ‘detention’

The Rangers paramilitary force released Sunni Tehreek (ST) chief Sarwat Aijaz Qadri and central leader Shahid Ghauri after ‘taking them into custody for several hours’, an ST spokesman said early on Monday.

The spokesman for the party said that the two leaders went to the Rangers headquarters to attend a meeting regarding the June 18 raid on its head office in the city, in which several Sunni Tehreek workers were held.

However, despite passage of several hours the two leaders have not returned, said the spokesman assuming that the two were taken into custody by the paramilitary force.

Later, he retracted his earlier statement saying Qadri and Ghauri have been ‘released’ now. He added that ST chief Qadri would hold a press conference later in the day to disclose details of his negotiations with Rangers.

Qadri, meanwhile, told reports that he and Ghauri were not detained at Rangers headquarters terming the whole episode a big ‘misunderstanding’.

He reaffirmed his party’s full support to law enforcement agencies for the restoration of peace in Karachi. Qadri went on to say that Rangers’ investigations in connection with the Thursday’s raid were ongoing.

The ST chief said that affairs relating to the party’s organisation were discussed at the meeting with Rangers officials.

Its worth mentioning here that the Rangers and other law enforcement agencies had failed to arrest the terrorists of banned outfit AhleSunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) , JUI-F, and seminaries involved in terrorism despite the concrete evidences of these outfits involvement in attack on law enforcement agencies, Shia’s and Beralvi school of thoughts and now Ismailis and Bohris communities in Karachi and rest of the country.