KARACHI: HRCP demands release of political workers
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Oct 18: Condemning the indiscriminate arrest of a large number of people, including political workers, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has demanded their immediate and unconditional release.
Speaking at a press conference at the Press Club on Friday, the four HRCP Sindh councillors said that some organizations and those under arrest were trying to organize peaceful rallies in order to express solidarity with workers on the occasion of May Day, which was disallowed by the administration.
They said that officials of law enforcement agencies had besieged the entire city, including the KPC, and did not allow them to exercise their right of expression, which is their basic human right and enshrined in the constitution.
They said that when people are not allowed to exercise the right of expression, it increases intolerance that leads to violence in society.
They said that the police had arrested many people from their homes and in certain cases, when the police could not find the wanted person at home, relatives were taken into custody.
They condemned the authorities for not even allowing trade unions and labour organizations to hold rallies or to take out May Day processions — the only day in a year that has been recognized and marked all over the world to recall and highlight the sacrifices given by workers for their rights over a century back.
They said that though some of those arrested had been released on bail, a large number had been sent to jail.
They said that sometime back, some organizations had also announced a rally at Lahore on March 23, and the authorities had announced that they would not allow the meeting. Even when it was held, the authorities did not let loose the reign of terror as they had here.
They criticized the double standards adopted by the government, as it allowed certain groups to hold rallies and even display arms, while it did not allow the workers, their sympathizers and civil society organizations to hold peaceful rallies or to take out processions on the occasion of May Day.
HRCP councillors Iqbal Haider, Dr Haroon Ahmad, Ghazi Salahuddin and Uzma Noorani spoke.
The HRCP staff, Moazzam Khan, Abdul Hai and others who had conducted fact-finding surveys at various police stations informed the press that they also saw a large number of arrested people, many of whom informed the team that they had been tortured.
