MUZAFFARABAD, Nov 11: The AJK police on Friday baton-charged a rally of earthquake survivors who were protesting against the government move to evict them from a camp and arrested 10 people for violating a ban on public meetings and processions.
A spokesman for the protesters told Dawn that at least 15 people, including women and children, had received injuries in “ruthless use of batons and rifle butts”.
Witnesses said around 250 people took out a procession from the Jalalabad tent camp, set up in a park, and started marching to the Prime Minister’s office in Chattar locality. As they reached Garhi Pan Chowk, some 50 policemen blocked their way and started dispersing them by using rifle butts and canes, the witnesses said.
“Yes we had to resort to mild use of batons with a view to maintaining the law and order situation,” Deputy Inspector-General police Tahir Mahmood Qureshi said.
The government, he said, wanted to move the inhabitants of the tent camp to Thoori locality but they refused to leave and demanded that they should be absorbed within the city.
The DIG said that Thoori camp had been set up with the help of American engineers, providing “better living facilities” as compared to other makeshift dwellings.
He said Jalalabad camp, home to 2,000 people in 400 tents, lacked proper sanitation facilities and had subsequently turned it into a filth depot. The survivors, however, said that Thoori camp ran greater risk of exposing their children to diseasesr.
