article_snippet: Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN)Pakistani Armed Forces paramilitary personal stormed the headquarters of one of the country's most powerful regional opposition political parties in a predawn raid on Wednesday, seizing a stash of weapons and arresting several wanted criminals, officials said.
article_snippet: In a statement to the media, Rangers released a list of those arrested, including Faisal Mota, a former the MQM (Muttahida Qaumi Movement) worker who had been convicted and sentenced to death in absentia for the murder of journalist Wali Khan Babur.  
article_snippet: Speaking to the media, Rangers spokesperson Col.Tahir Mahmood also confirmed that a large amount of illegal weapons had been seized during a predawn raid.
article_snippet: The weapons that we had were legal and there as a precautionary measure to deal with real threats from the Taliban against our party and the Taliban workers," Faisal Sabzwari, a senior MQM party leader told CNN.
article_snippet: a predawn raid is meant to send a clear message that law enforcement agencies and Rangers in particular are not going to bow to any political convention," said Zarrar Khuhro, a senior journalist and political analyst in Karachi.
article_snippet: The MQM   called for calm, but criticized the raid saying that "it should not be the role of the armed forces to conduct extrajudicial operations on lawful organizations, least of all the headquarters of a democratically elected political party.
article_snippet: Pakistan's Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said late Wednesday night that a predawn raid was legal.