Police and protesters face off in Karachi on Monday as demonstrators call for the release of Faisal Raza Abidi, Maulana Mirza Yousaf Hussain and Allama Iqbal Ahmad Rizvi at National Highway Malir-15.

A high-level cabinet meeting in Karachi was briefed on the law and order situation in the metropolis, as police on Monday claimed important arrests were made during a targeted operation last night against "criminals involved in sectarianism and other heinous crimes".

Negotiations between police and the protesters was unsuccessful, as protesters were insistent upon the fulfillment of their one-point agenda, whereas police had adopted the stance that legal proceedings must be completed before any workers were released.

Intermittent skirmishes between police and protesters resulted in tear gas shelling and aerial firing in an attempt to disperse the protesters. Protesters resorted to stone pelting against the police.