KARACHI, Jan 7: Police dispersed a large number of peace activists — took two of them into custody — who had come to stage a peaceful demonstration near the Expo Centre on Monday evening.

Police sources said that the ASP, Asif Aijaz, who had taken both the peace activists into custody released them after some time.

A representative of Joint Action Committee, the organisers of the demonstration, Beena Sarwar, later speaking at a Press conference said that a councillor of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan had informed the DIG Karachi about the peace demonstration near the Civic Centre and he (the DIG) had said that if the activists did not intend to take out a procession then there was no problem.

The organisers also said that they would address a press conference at the Press Club tomorrow (Tuesday) at 3pm to announce their future line of action.

She said that police pushed away the demonstrators, majority of whom were women and children, who were waiting for their companions to arrive so that the demonstration could start, and snatched the placards inscribed with slogans of peace, and threw them away.

Ms Sarwar said: “We were shocked at the policy of our government, which on the one hand did not take any action against the religious groups which were giving calls for Jihad, but on the other the police violently attacked those people who had assembled for peace.”

A large number of peace activists had gathered on the service lane near Expo Centre and Civic Centre in Gulshan-i-Iqbal at the scheduled time of 5.30pm and were still unfolding their banners when they were encircled by a large contingent of police, which had been posted there for security purposes as the Sindh Governor, Mohammedmian Soomro, was to inaugurate an exhibition at the Expo Centre in the evening.

The police probably got panicky at the large number of peace activists, and asked the demonstrators to leave the area immediately. The demonstrators tried to inform the police that they had informed their DIG, but the local police chief, ASP Asif Aijaz, who introduced himself as “area commander”, did not listen and using strong language ordered them to vacate the area immediately.

Soon, the policemen started pushing the activists. When some activists raised a hue and cry and asked the police not to push the women, a large number of policewomen were called and soon after their arrival, the police started more pushing and using force against the peace activists and dispersed the demonstrators taking two of them into custody.

The police also tried to take another demonstrator, Dr Riaz of Karachi University, into custody but the demonstrators resisted and the university teacher had his eye-glasses broken in the scuffle that followed. Two activists who were taken into brief custody were Javed Iqbal Burki of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Aslam Martin of the Idara Amn-o-Insaf.

The demonstration was organized to press the governments of India and Pakistan to defuse tension at the borders, sit across the negotiating table and solve all their problems through dialogue.

The organizers had planned that after holding the banners, inscribed with peace messages, for some time, they would light the candles and later disperse peacefully. This was the second such demonstration, the first one was held at the Press Club last week.