KARACHI: Police arrested participants in the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf demonstrations in different parts of Karachi on Thursday when the party took to streets to take out rallies and observe the anniversary of May 9 mayhem.

While videos of police action went viral on social media, the law enforcement agency did not offer any comment when Dawn approached multiple senior officials.

In line with the countrywide call of the party to stage rallies and demonstrations on anniversary of May 9 riots, which it called “a false-flag operation designed and carried out by the establishment to disintegrate the party”, the PTI announced 18 different points of the city to take out rallies and organise demonstrations.

Although the participation at some venues remained quite low, a large number of people, including women and children, attended the demonstrations.

However, at some half a dozen spots the police resorted to baton charge and teargas shelling before rounding up a number of PTI workers including women.

In PIB Colony, a number of PTI workers, including former MPA Jamal Siddiqui, were detained before the participants could join the demonstration.

The party alleged that the same situation was witnessed in Sohrab Goth where a number of party workers were arrested during the protest.

A motorbike rally was organised by the party which was led by Sindh chapter president of PTI Haleem Adil Sheikh from Sharea Faisal to Mazar-i-Quaid.

Another rally moved from Hasan Square to Mazar-i-Quaid. Mr Sheikh alleged that a party worker was also injured by a shell fired by the police near the mausoleum of the Quaid.

He said the workers faced the same “wrath” from the police in rural towns of Sindh where over a dozen PTI activists were arrested for staging protest demonstrations and rallies.

“Our 23 workers, including three women, were arrested by police at different demonstrations in Karachi,” he told Dawn. “They even fired teargas shells near Mazar-i-Quaid that left our worker injured. In rural Sindh, our 13 workers were arrested in Sukkur, Thatta, Nawabshah, Dadu, Mirpurkhas and several other towns. What wrong or illegal, we did today? We were only exercising our constitutional and democratic rights. This isn’t policing or law-enforcement. This is barbarism.”

He accused the Sindh government and the leadership of the PPP of “using the police against the PTI”.

The ruling party was well aware of losing its ground both in rural and urban Sindh only due to growing popularity of the PTI, he added.

“The PPP is more concerned about protests being staged by political workers and using police force to crush their constitutional rights while dacoits and street criminals are allowed to roam free all over Sindh,” he added.

Home department version

Although the police authorities didn’t respond to Dawn queries about PTI claims, a statement issued by the Sindh home department said Sindh Home Minister Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar “appreciated” the overall performance of the Sindh police on May 9.

“The Sindh police deserve a huge applause for ensuring security of peoples’ lives, their properties during the rallies taken out today across the province,” the statement quoted the minister as saying.

“The people’s support to law-enforcement agencies is also appreciable. I firmly believe that the Sindh police would continue to ensure foolproof arrangement for the security of the people.”

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2024