IS our police leadership so devoid of ideas that cracking down on unarmed civilians is their only means of containing protests? The unsavoury scenes that unfolded in Karachi this Sunday, where police personnel resorted to disproportionate and unjustifiable force while breaking up a peaceful protest led by members of civil society, were a reminder of how rapidly the space for exercising one’s constitutional rights has shrunk in today’s Pakistan. Pictures and videos of women being dragged across the roads, men being beaten with batons, journalists being strangled, and clothes being torn off protesters as they were bundled up for arrest drew loud condemnations from across the country. Facing an outcry, the ruling party in the province did little more than issue token condemnations on social media. Such crackdowns are being witnessed in other major cities too — as we just saw in Lahore where students protesting against an alleged rape were brutalised.

In Karachi, if two rival protests had been planned for the day, the administration’s reaction should not have been to enforce Section 144. Though it is true that one set of the protesters has often resorted to violent tactics during demonstrations, routinely imposing Section 144 is a derogation of the political rights enjoyed by citizens under the law. It is not unusual for protests and counter-protests to be held at the same time and venue — it happens across the world. It is the police’s job to keep rival protesters separated and to protect all who are participating. Here, the police went on an all-out offensive against the protesters without distinguishing between peaceful citizens and miscreants, triggering unnecessary violence and mayhem that could have been avoided with better crowd control and management. Its actions also added fuel to the fire, with more agitation now being planned against the state. Those responsible must now move to quell the anger and douse the flames before more trouble breaks out.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2024