Major Kaleemuddin of the Field Investigation Unit (FIU) of the Pakistan Army had been tasked to restore peace in the trouble-stricken Landhi area of Karachi. He was abducted on 20 June 1991 along with a few subordinates while in civvies – the night when the MQM-Haqiqi led by Afaq Ahmed made an abortive attempt to take over the Landhi offices of the Altaf-led MQM, called Mohajir Khel. This led to a bloody gun battle between the two MQM factions, killing many from both sides. There are different versions of what exactly happened to Major Kaleemuddin. Some of the MQM-A leaders had claimed after the incident that the abductors were under the impression that MQM Haqiqi leaders – Afaq Ahmed and Amir Khan - had returned to the port city at the behest of the agencies and that the Major was present in Landhi to supervise the establishment-sponsored operation against them. During the court trial, many of the accused had claimed that since the Major was in plain clothes, he was mistaken by them for a Haqiqi activist and subsequently roughed up. But as soon he had revealed his identity, the Major was allowed to go. A special court for suppression of terrorist activities (STA) led by Justice Rafiq Awan began hearing of the Kaleemuddin kidnapping case in March 1993 and delivered the judgment on June 9, 1994. The court had convicted Ashfaque Chief, Javed Kazmi and Haji Jalal and sentenced them to 30 years’ rigorous imprisonment besides imposing a fine of Rs20, 000 each under the Pakistan Penal Code the Hudood Ordinance. All other accused, including Altaf Hussain, were declared absconders and sentenced to 27 years jail and a fine of Rs30,000 each in absentia. metransparent/spip.php?page=article&id_article=8155&lang=en
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 02:19:35 +0000