Imprisoned MQM worker dies during medical treatment

KARACHI: A Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) worker in police custody at the Karachi Central Jail died on Friday during medical treatment at Civil Hospital, official sources confirmed.

Nadeem Ahmed, 38, was already receiving treatment at the prison but was shifted to Civil Hospital after his condition deteriorated.

Hospital sources said a magistrate was called to supervise the autopsy but Ahmed's family did not let doctors fulfil the legal formality and submitted a written request with the magistrate, requesting that the autopsy not be carried out.

"They took away the body without post-mortem," medico-legal officer Dr. Abdul Ghaffar Shaikh told media, adding that there were no torture marks on the dead body.

MQM claims Ahmed was a party worker from the unit-52 Lines area and was arrested by Rangers on November 21. He was handed over to police on November 26 and was detained at the Karachi Central Jail.

Party sources say Ahmed was a father of four and was supposed to be released on Friday.

MQM has time and again alleged it is being targeted under the garb of the Rangers-led security operation in Karachi.

The party claims its workers are being forcefully detained and killed in custody.

In August, all of the party's lawmakers resigned from the National Assembly, Senate and the Sindh Assembly in protest against the 'excesses being committed' during the Karachi operation.

The party returned to assemblies after it reached an agreement with the federal government to set up a judicial commission to investigate the ‘extrajudicial killings’ and enforced disappearances of its workers.

The party claims that only MQM workers are being targeted during the Karachi operation that had been launched against criminals.

In September, senior MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar, during a protest claimed that about 50 MQM workers had been killed in custody of security forces.