Waseem Akhtar (Urdu: وسیم اختر; born 25 November 1955) is a Pakistani politician of the Muttahida Quami Movement (P). He served as the Mayor of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, from 2016 to 2020. Shortly after his nomination as Mayor, he was controversially arrested for what his supporters saw as political reasons.
Waseem Akhtar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 29th Mayor of Karachi | |
| In office 30 August 2016 – 29 August 2020 | |
| Deputy | Arshad Abdullah Vohra |
| Preceded by | Syed Mustafa Kamal |
| Succeeded by | Murtaza Wahab |
| Pakistani Parliamentarian from Karachi, Sindh | |
| In office May 2008 – May 2013 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 November 1955 Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Political party |  MQM-P (2016-present) |
| Residence | Karachi, |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Telecommunication Engineer |
Akhtar worked as a telecommunication engineer for AT&T in Saudi Arabia for ten years. After returning to Pakistan, he started radio sets and telephone sets assembly business which later expanded to pharmaceutical distribution.[1]
Early life and career
editAfter his early academic education, he finished his degree program in telecommunication engineering.[2]
Personal life
editAkhtar belongs to an Urdu-speaking Muslim Rajput family. He is the son of Akhter Muhammad Khan. He runs a real estate business. He is married and has six children.[citation needed]
Political career
edit
Mayor of Karachi
editIn 1987, he joined Muttahida Qaumi Movement.[3] He is currently a senior member of MQM.
After the 2015 Karachi local government elections, Akhtar became the Mayor of Karachi on 24 August 2016.[4] He took oath as Karachi mayor on 30 August 2016.[5]
Arrest
editAkhtar was arrested based on a Joint Investigation Team report on Asim Hussain.[6][7] These reports, according to legal experts, are inadmissible in courts.[8] The Anti-Terror Court which would try him has also been declared as "unjust and ineffective" by the International Commission of Jurists.[9][10]
Akhter was arrested shortly after his nomination papers for the Mayor of Karachi were accepted by the Election Commission of Pakistan (which requires that a candidate have no criminal record). Since he was nominated mayor of Karachi, unknown persons registered FIR against him in the District of Malir, home of then Senior Superintendent of Police Rao Anwar, who would later be suspended by the government.[11][12] The Anti-Terror Court ordered his arrest, which seems part of chain of political crackdown against MQM, which has blamed the law enforcement agencies for transgressing their authority and extrajudicially killing many MQM workers, including Aftab Ahmed, a former coordinator for Farooq Sattar.[13] Akhtar also alleges that the court needlessly delayed his bail by not hearing his bail case.
Charges
editCharges against Akhtar included that he listened to speeches by MQM founder Altaf Hussain and clapped.[14] He is also accused of recommending people to Asim Hussain for medical treatment.
Fake confession reports
editPakistani media ran reported that Akhtar had confessed to murder, but his lawyers presented a signed letter from his jail declaring the reports to be false.[15] Akhtar later himself appeared on the media and rejected the fake confession reports.
MQM has also alleged that law enforcement agencies were pressuring Akhtar to withdraw as the mayor of Karachi.[16] Some analysts opined that Akhtar was not being provided a fair trial.[17]
Fake receipts in Asim case
editJournalist Shahzaib Khanzada revealed that Rangers had submitted forged medical receipts intended to show that Akhtar had recommended alleged terrorists receive treatment from Asim. All of the receipts belonged to innocent residents (the receipts and addresses were authentic but names had been changed).
Amnesty International
editAmnesty International published a report stating that the life of Akhtar while in detention might be in danger because of torture and ill treatment by the law enforcement agencies.[18]
Release from jail
editAkhtar was released from detention on 16 November 2016 after getting bail on all 39 cases.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Waseem Akhtar: The party man". 14 March 2016.
- ^ "Waseem Akhtar Politician Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)". urduwire.com. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ^ "Waseem Akhtar: The party man". 14 March 2016.
- ^ Reporter, Dawn.com | The Newspaper's Staff (24 August 2016). "MQM's imprisoned Waseem Akhtar elected Karachi mayor". Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ^ "MQM's jailed Waseem Akhtar takes oath as Karachi mayor". 30 August 2016.
- ^ "Waseem Akhtar, Rauf Siddiqui, Anis Qaimkhani arrested from Karachi court". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ Tanoli, Dawn.com | Ishaq (19 July 2016). "Police arrest Waseem Akhtar, Anis Kaimkhani in Dr Asim terror case". Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ "Investigating high-profile crimes: JIT reports inadmissible in court, say legal experts - The Express Tribune". 17 February 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ "Pakistan: military justice system unjust and ineffective – new ICJ paper | ICJ". www.icj.org. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ "Explainer: How Waseem Akhtar will run Karachi from inside a jail". Express Tribune. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ^ "Bad cops bent to make Karachi police a mafia: Altaf Shakoor President of Pasban-e-Pakistan". CNN iReport. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ Baloch, Dawn.com | Shafi (18 April 2016). "SHC orders FIR against SSP Rao Anwar over 'staged encounter'". Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ Ali, Dawn.com | Imtiaz (3 May 2016). "DG Rangers admits deceased MQM worker was tortured during custody". Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ "MQM's Waseem Akhtar seeks bail in hate speech case - The Express Tribune". 4 January 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ "Wasim Akhtar condemns "fake" confession reports | SAMAA TV". Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ Webmaster (10 August 2016). "MQM being pressured to withdraw Waseem's name". Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ "Is Wasim Akhtar getting a fair trial?". 5 August 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ "URGENT ACTION FIVE POLITICAL ACTIVISTS AT RISK OF TORTURE" (PDF).
- ^ "Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar released from jail". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 16 November 2016.