Saulat Mirza’s Life Story

Who was Saulat Mirza? How did he become the infamous villain of the city? He was becoming a cricketer and then how did he become a notorious target killer? He knew how to save lives by donating blood and also how to shed blood by taking lives. The young man who pushed Karachi into fire. A daredevil who was neither afraid of the police nor the army, he was a unique criminal for whom death warrants were issued three times, but it took 16 years to hang him.

Saulat Mirza, who while sitting in the prison cell ruled the city, not only shook the MQM in Karachi but shocked the leadership in London as well. A strong young lad of Karachi became the mastermind of high profile assassinations in the city. The Trump card of MQM that won the city for them but lost his life entrapped in political crossovers.

The Beginnings

After the breakdown of the country in 1971, Paramilitary Department clerk Wajahat Ali Khan was transferred from Kohat to Karachi. This was a middle-class Urdu-speaking family that first settled in Malir and then in North Nazimabad. After five girls and five boys, in the same year, Saulat was born in Wajahat’s house. Karachi has always been a nursery of cricket. This was the time when not only the streets but also the grounds of Nazimabad were full of cricket. Saulat, who was the 11th number in the house, grew up and excelled in cricket along with studies. His fast bowling was famous in Nazimabad. He became a well-known bowler in his area, and many players were afraid to face him as he was quick and a disciplined bowler. Saulat also took admission in Ship Owners College and started studying pre-medical. He was in the Under-19 Karachi cricket team and perhaps was the fastest bowler of Karachi.  He used to attend religious programs and participate in Tablighi Jamaat. He had no connection with politics or any other thing up until his college life.

The 80s and 90s are very important in the history of Karachi. Political and ethnic divisions were at their peak. The headlines of the newspapers lying on the stalls were stained with the blood of nameless corpses. Colleges and universities became political arenas. This was the time when there was a lot of demand for weapons due to Afghan Jihad. Karachi’s population consisted of young men born in this city. This was the time when 71% of the boys and girls of Karachi were educated, while the literacy rate in the rest of the country was only 26%. But then slowly something started developing: educated youth left books and started picking up guns and flags. After Jamiat PSF, ANP, and GSM, now APMSO had established its authority in the educational institutions. A mind set was created, and there were many youth in Karachi that were brainwashed for a dream that couldn’t be interpreted.One thing is that there is a big tension in Karachi between the Urdu speaking community, and they used to affiliate themselves with MQM, but in the same way, every segment of society, i.e., Baloch, Pashtuns, Sindhis, affiliated themselves with some political party or group because all the ethnic groups were present in Karachi.

Which is the biggest city of the Pathans? It is not Peshawar. It is not Kohat. It is not Mardan.It is Karachi. Which is the biggest city of the Sindhis? It is Karachi. Those were very bad times, and the lives of the people, even the children, who were innocent, their minds were poisoned.

MQM Scouts Saulat

Saulat was witnessing all these happenings around him, and the poison was reaching his ears as well.Till now, all his aggression was being channeled into taking wickets on the field. One day, a great match took place on the grounds of Ship Owners College. Saulat dominated the match with his bowling. When his team was coming out of the ground after winning, the unit in charge of APMSO, Arshad Shah, was standing with his eyes fixed on Saulat, puffing a cigarette. He was tall, with a thick moustache and an open collar. Saulat looked different from everyone else. He was a fearless boy who had not learnt to be subdued by anyone. Perhaps this was the reason Arshad Shah liked him, and now he wanted to make him a supporter of their cause.The time and environment of that time were such that every Urdu-speaking child was joining MQM. Saulat was already very much influenced by one of his friends, and this friendship proved to be the turning point of his life. That friend was also not an ordinary one; he was Fahim Farooqui, the leader of the militant wing of MQM, who ran death cells. The same Fahim commando who could not sleep at night without killing someone, who could kill any policemen on the slightest suspicion. The price of one crore rupees was set on whose head. Saulat was inspired by Faheem and also wanted to impose his authority in the area. After launching the party in 1987, MQM first won the Baldia election and then won a significant number of seats in the elections of 1988 and 1990.

But as they say, power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Around the same time, news started coming that politics is being done to control the areas through units and sectors. In the beginning of 1992, Altaf Hussain had gone to London forever. Operation Cleanup was started after him, which lost credibility after a lot of confusion. Altaf Hussain was not there himself, but his voice was echoing in every corner of the city. He used to sit on the sofa in another country and announce one strike after another on the microphone.

Now it was Saulat’s responsibility to make it successful. This was the time when Saulat set a minibus on fire for the first time. Saulat Mirza had told how he was brainwashed. He was told that Karachi will be a separate country, and when we get independence, from the Chief Justice to a common peon, from a police constable to the IG, and all the positions will be in the hands of the Muhajirs, and for freedom, sacrifices have to be made, blood has to be shed; without that, nothing happens. Now what was the age of these boys then? 17 years, 18 years, and this is the age in which you can easily put them on any path. Those days there was a strange atmosphere. Nobody knew who ruled the city. Muslims from every sect jumped into the fire. There were torture cells in every area. Most of the corpses were packed in sacks and thrown on the road. Drill machines, saws and chisels, and hammers were not being used on concrete and stones but on humans. People were being taken off buses after checking their identity cards and killed. Thousands of innocent citizens were killed. Edhi Sahab of the Edhi Foundation himself buried countless unclaimed bodies that were the target of this massacre.

Benazir Bhutto decided with the military leadership that the second phase of the Karachi operation will be supported by the police and Rangers. Naseer Ullah Babar was given the command. From here began the bloody war between the police and the political criminals, which could not end for the next several years. Saulat was dancing on the orders of London, killing like a assassin. His mind was like the mouth of those who play PUBG these days. The only difference was that here, living people were losing their lives. On May 1, 1994, MQM organized a big protest. In that, Altaf Hussain raised slogans of breaking the country and a two-day strike was organized. The same night, a meeting was organized in North Nazimabad Block N.

Saulat Mirza, The Don of Karachi

This meeting was called by unit in-charge Faheem Fire Brigade Wala. Without Faheem Commando and his number two Saulat. Now it was impossible to imagine any such meeting. On the other hand, Sector Incharge Salim Baloch handed over the semi automatic weapons to the boys and gave them the target of attacking the army van. This is the same hitman known as Belgium who was caught in 2019.
A guy was caught from north Karachi who told the authorities about Saulat Mirza. Faheem Commando was known to people, very few people knew Saulat at that time, but the way he told that he was so active and he was an educated boy and was street smart, in any case, whatever information they had, the criminal who was arrested told that he used to play cricket in the locality, and when he became active with MQM for Tanzeem, then in the beginning he used to snatch vehicles, snatch motorcycles, used to prepare for a strike for the party, and made sure the orders were followed and instructions were implemented.They used to be very active in that regard. His name had also come up in some target killings but he was not as big a name as Faheem Commando was.

His first target was the murder of Sub Inspector Wajid Ali Shah of Nusrat Bhutto Colony. After that, Saulat did not look back.Locals saw that some boys were running fast on a bike. Someone from the crowd said that this was Saulat Mirza, and they are escaping after killing a sub inspector. There was a time when plans for big attacks were made on the famous Piyale cafe in Karachi. It was past midnight on December 1994. Saulat was sitting in ambush with his companions in front of Cafe Piyale at the mosque. As soon as the mobile of the Gulberg police station passed by, he started firing. One policeman died on the spot. In a short while, three-four mobiles arrived for help, and a full-fledged fight began.In those days, the police strength in the city was about 25000, but the situation was so bad that the police chief was being protected by quasi-military personnel. During the four-year operation, about 450 policemen were killed. In those days, Karachi had come in the league of the most dangerous cities in the world.
One morning in May, as soon as the Fajr azan was done, Nusrat Bhutto Colony echoed with firing. Faheem, Saulat, and Farooq Dada had attacked the Ranger sub-headquarters after planning for several days. This place was very close to Saulat’s house and he himself was the mastermind of this attack. Saulat first looted buses overnight and then looted them. He had blocked the roads and was now firing on every Rangers vehicle that came to help. This was such a big incident that after this, the government decided to catch Faheem Commando at any cost.

When Faheem Commando was caught, Faheem Commando and all the people who were caught with him told in their interrogation. He also told about Saulat Mirza, and at that time authorities came to know how important Saulat Mirza was as the mastermind behind the militancy that was going on at that time. The strikes and many things that were going on in Karachi, target killings were going on, so the role of Saulat Mirza in it was uncovered for the first time during those interrogations.Saulat Mirza was not an ordinary criminal, but his level was something else. After this incident, the situation started changing. Now it was the turn of the police and Rangers to take revenge. Farooq Patni, alias Farooq Dada, was killed in an encounter  with none other than SHO Rao Anwar. House-to-house raids were conducted. Areas were surveyed and arrests of young men began. This was because of the tempting situation in the city. Police mutiny groups were burning vehicles in reaction and muffling the city. The interesting thing here was that often the news of the incidents was given to the newspapers by calling them beforehand. Obviously, this meant that all this was happening under a well-planned scheme. During this time, Saulat had to go out of the country. He came back when Benazir Bhutto’s rule was over. Saulat gets married during this time, and a few months after the marriage, a call from London instructs Saulat about a new task.

High Profile Killings

In those days, the situation was very bad. KESC (Karachi Electric Supply Company ) was not privatized yet. As a result of political recruitments, inefficiency was at its peak. The unions had ruined the organization. In those days, government bureaucrat Shahid Hamid was the managing director of KESC. He started catching the corruption of the recruited people. As a result, the workers unions prepared themselves for enmity with Shahid Hamid. On the other hand, Shahid Hamid also stood firm despite receiving threats. The mafia had no option other than removing the MD. This phone call that Saulat received was from Salim Belgium who was in touch with Altaf Hussain. Salim handed over the responsibility of a high profile target to Saulat. It was told that this target is connected to IMF, which is going to give loan to the country and this target was none other than Shahid Hamid. Saulat started following him with three boys. These people kept noting the time of Shahid Hamid going to office and coming home for many days. On 5th July 1997, Saulat Mirza and his three companions sat in ambush in Defence Phase 2. Two lanes went from Shahid Hamid’s house to the main road. Saulat and his companions covered both the lanes and sat down. Shahid Hamid got up after having breakfast with his wife Shahnaz and son Umar. Both his guard and driver were alert. Saying Khuda Hafiz to the family members, he sat in the car and went out of the gate. Only a few moments must have passed when the sound of firing came from outside. The team was present in one of the lanes When they fired on the car, the driver was shot. He drove the car towards another lane, but Saulat was waiting for them there holding a Kalashinkov. Umar, his son, came out running and saw that four men holding Kalashinkov were firing bullets at the car.The driver and Shahid Hamid had more than 150 bullets in their bodies. This murder proved to be the last nail in Saulat’s coffin.

Meanwhile, impressed by Saulat’s performance, Salim Belgium decided to give him the next target. Shahnawaz was a retired army major who worked for an American company. Salim told Saulat that Shahnawaz is responsible for sending the intelligence reports of MQM cars to the top. By eliminating this target, America can be forced to put pressure on Pakistan. When Saulat was ready to commit another murder, that day Shahnawaz was ready to drop his son from the board office to Hyderi. As soon as he reached Hyderi, Saulat was waiting along with his team, and he opened fire on the car. Shahnawaz died on the spot and his son was injured. In those days, Nawaz Sharif was in the country but Karachi was ruled by Saulat. Suddenly he gets a message from the MQM leadership that now he has to leave the country for a bigger cause. Saulat leaves everyone and goes to Sri Lanka. Two more MQM workers, Azhar and Imran were also with him. Saulat travels on a fake passport, on which his name is Farhan. Now he was in Sri Lanka when he gets the task of reaching South Africa from London. Here Saulat stayed for a few months and achieved political prowess but the party had some other intentions. Saulat’s next destination was India, where he had to get training to fight the army. MQM militants were not those who got training in the camps of Raw.

The Downfall

According to Saulat, he did not go to India, and perhaps this was the mistake from where the countdown of his life started. Breaking the oath as punishment, he was made an ex-communicated from MQM. On hearing about his mother’s illness, he secretly came to Karachi. MQM issued a notification of his capture. It was his good luck that he went back to Bangkok without getting arrested. In Bangkok, he gets another call from London, but this time the caller was none other than Altaf Hussain himself. Saulat gets the task of going to Karachi and recruiting the boys to eliminate the opponents.
Saulat was still loyal to his party but very soon this loyalty was going to turn into betrayal. It was certain that now Saulat’s fortunes were in trouble. His friends had become informers. They were informing the police and intelligence about every moment. But Saulat himself was unaware of this situation. On the night of 11 December 1998, Saulat was coming to Karachi from Bangkok on a fake passport. At the airport,  SHO Chaudhary Aslam had come to receive him along with dozens of policemen in civil clothes.
Chaudhary Aslam even knew on which seat Saulat was sitting. As soon as he came out, Saulat was surrounded from all sides. This was a high-profile arrest. The very next day, Saulat Mirza’s interview was on scene. In that interview, Saulat Mirza accepted his crimes and made shocking revelations about MQM leadership.

He went behind the bars of the prison, never to come out again. After the crime was proved, the court sentenced him to death. But this time, luck was kind to not only Saulat but also MQM. When Pervez Musharraf took over, MQM’s fortunes changed. Saulat Mirza appealed to the President for mercy, which resulted in his hanging being postponed for years. While MQM got a free hand under Musharraf’s reign, Saulat Mirza also started showing his true colours while sitting in jail. Saulat Mirza was serving jail term as an ordinary prisoner who looked like a sector officer, and the death cell was like a sector office of MQM. Saulat made a setup of target killing while in prison, he did not answer to anyone in Pakistan, rather, he had direct contact with the leadership in London. Prison was just a party office where Saulat ruled for 17 years; his anniversary was celebrated here, dance parties were held, he had six mobiles and 16 SIM cards in use, and political leaders used to come to meet Saulat in jail.
He used to have similar meetings with the responsible people of the organization, now in jail, from constable to superintendent; all transfers and postings started happening as per Saulat’s wish. When AmanUllah Niazi, who was the deputy superintendent of Karchi Central Jail, got strict with Saulat Mirza, Saulat Mirza challenged him and got him killed.He was killed in the crowded electronic market in Sadar with his gunman. Such was the power of Saulat serving a death sentence.
He proved to be more dangerous inside the jail. Here he would get requests to resolve domestic disputes and he would pass decisions on them while sitting in the jail but once the decision was made, no one had the courage to refuse it.

Saulat was sure that he will not be hanged. After the Musharraf era, the Peoples Party came in power and governorship was with the MQM for 5 years. Therefore, there was no reduction in the protocol facilities of Saulat in the jail. But when in 2013 Nawaz Sharif, became Prime Minister karachi operation started with full swing. The prime minister, Army Chief,Corps Commander and DG Rangers all were on board, 12500 people were arrested in 8000 raids, for the first time 90, MQM head office was raided.Not only outside but inside the jail also the situation was changing rapidly. Saulat who had come to the party to establish his power, now his sisters were seen complaining about Farooq Sattar bhai’s misbehavior. His sisters had to go through so many obstacles while going to meet him.

In 17 years, Saulat had written so many letters to his wife that they filled a room in jail. Before shifting to Mach jail till the time Saulat stayed in Karachi, his wife used to visit her in jail every week. She used to bring Ibne Safi’s novels for him. The time for Saulat’s hanging was coming closer again. In 2015, just a few hours before he was hanged, another interview clip of Saulat was sent to all the TV channels. Exactly a week before, Rangers had raided 90 markaz of MQM. All fingers were being pointed towards MQM in Baldia factory fire. In such situation when Saulat’s interview came out no channel had the courage to run this explosive and shocking statement. When Samaa TV went ahead and broke the interview, other channels also followed. In that interview Saulat had exposed the deeds of MQM’s senior leadership including Altaf Hussain. Who made this video and how it got leaked is a secret till date. After the interview was aired, Saulat’s hanging was postponed for 72 hours but now all the efforts were in vain, Saulat also started realizing that his time was up, a day before the hanging, he was lying in the Mach jail with his head on the lap of a prisoner, remembering his family and feeling guilty of all the crimes he commtied. He spent the whole night walking in the room and smoking cigarettes. On 12 May 2015, Jail Superintendent Insaaf Zahari wakes up the sleeping Saulat. A leather strap is put around Saulat’s neck and his hands are tied. Saulat Mirza was hanged in Machh jail. The story of Saulat Mirza was now over.
Saulat was the product of system that had lessons for all the youth of how talented youngsters are used and abused by the political system and how company could rot you no matter how talented you are, the end of wrong path is always tragedy.