The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was unable to hold its planned protest against the rising prices of petroleum products and the resulting inflation near the Karachi Press Club on Sunday due to road closures by police and the local administration.
According to reports, roads around the press club were blocked with containers early in the morning. As a result, PTI leaders and workers began gathering at Fawara Chowk to hold their protest.
Police present on site started detaining the protesters, which temporarily delayed the demonstration. Later, when a large number of PTI workers regrouped and resumed the protest, clashes broke out between police and the protesters.
Some protesters reportedly pelted police vehicles with stones, prompting police to respond with baton charges and tear gas shelling, which caused panic in the area, leading to the temporary closure of nearby markets, including the Zainab Market, while traffic movement on the nearby roads was also disrupted.
Police detained around two dozen PTI workers, including former MNAs Alamgir Khan and Dawa Khan, and shifted them to nearby police stations. After the police action, the situation gradually returned to normal, and traffic movement and business activities resumed.
According to South Zone police chief DIG Asad Raza, police had been deployed to maintain law and order because the protest was being held without permission. He said that some individuals pelted police with stones, following which tear gas was used to disperse the crowd. Police said that legal action would be taken against the detainees under the relevant charges, including attacking police and shouting anti-state slogans.
PTI Karachi Division spokesperson censured the police action, terming the arrests and baton charges “unjustified”. The spokesperson said that several PTI leaders and workers were detained, including Alamgir Khan, Dawa Khan, Advocate Maqsood Alam and Advocate Khalid Mehmood.
PTI leaders said that peaceful political activity is a constitutional right, and demanded the immediate release of the arrested workers. In a statement, PTI Karachi Division President Raja Azhar condemned the police action, claiming it to be misuse of state power against political workers. Azhar urged the chief justice of the Sindh High Court to take notice of the incident. He also called for respect for democratic norms and the rule of law.
