KARACHI: Road users suffered hours-long traffic congestion in South District when law enforcers blocked some key roads in order to stop the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) protesters’ march on the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Wednesday.

The move from the police authorities came in the second half of the day when the BYC announced organising a rally from Lyari to the KPC to protest against alleged enforced disappearances of people.

The announcement pushed the authorities to block Sarwar Shaeed Road, Aiwan-i-Saddar Road and part of M.R. Kayani Road by parking buses and police vans on both ends of the thoroughfares.

KPC body condemns repeated curbs aimed at depriving people of their right to protest

Within few minutes, the closure led to severe traffic jams on all connecting roads as motorists were forced to use alternative routes which caused congestions on Deen Muhammad Wafai Road, Sarwar Shaheed Road, the road connecting PIDC House and Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road, I.I. Chundrigar Road and Court Road.

BYC protesters, mostly women and children, reached Zainab Market from where they were not allowed to march on the KPC.

The protesters, led by Sami Deen Baloch, Fauzia Baloch and Abdul Wahab, carried banners inscribed with slogans for release of “missing persons”.

They chanted slogans against alleged extrajudicial killings in Balochistan and release of “missing persons”.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza said that around 80-100 protesters, including men and women, dispersed peacefully after holding the rally.

After their rally, the restrictions, which remained enforced for more than four hours, were removed ending road users’ agony.

The roads closure attracted strong reaction from the KPC which condemned the move of the law-enforcement agency for blocking access to the club even for its members.

In a statement, KPC president Fazil Jamili and secretary Sohail Afzal Khan condemned the repeated closure of the roads around the press club to deprive individuals or groups of their right to stage a protest.

They added that the closure of the roads of the KPC was equivalent to stripping citizens of their democratic right to freedom of speech and undermining democratic governance.

“Such actions reflect the practices of an authoritarian regime,” it added.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2025