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| India-Pakistan |
| Rangers' mandate |
| 2015-08-29 |
| [DAWN] THE operation being carried out by the Rangers in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... is at serious risk of losing its focus, as the detention of former petroleum minister Asim Hussain on Wednesday has shown. Dr Hussain, an associate of former president Asif Ali Zardari, was taken into custody under a law strictly formulated for the pursuit of terrorists, and his detention has come across as a misuse of legal authority by the paramilitary force. Indeed, the perception of the Rangers overstepping their mandate has extended to other instances as well: not too long ago, an MQM leader was detained by the Rangers for organising a public meeting during which the increasingly hugeAltaf Hussain ..The head of MQM in Pakistain, who has lived in London and hasn't laid eyes on Pakistain since Caesar made corporal. Judging from the size of him,he may be a Hutt... spoke against the security establishment. Dr Asim Hussain was detained under Section 11EEEE of the Anti Terrorism Act of 1997, which was passed as an amendment in October 2013 at the start of the Karachi operation, specifically to empower the Rangers to detain and question those suspected of being involved in terrorism. Since then, the anti-terrorism law has been used to apprehend a growing number of individuals from all walks of life, from the chairman of the Fishermen Cooperative Society, to the head of the country's largest association of builders and developers, to various officials of the city government. In their application for preventive detention, the Rangers simply have to inform the court that they possess "credible information" that the suspect is involved in terror-related crime. Whatever the former minister's alleged involvement in corruption cases, it beggars belief that he could have been involved in acts of terrorism. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 was taken into custody under a law strictly formulated for the pursuit of terrorists, and his detention has come across as a misuse of legal authority by the paramilitary force. Sounds like the Patriot Act. Government will always use any law to expand their power over opposition. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2015-08-29 08:37 |