THATTA: Dr Zulfiqar Zounr, an orthopaedic surgeon, was picked up by police and detained at the Makli police station hours before he was to speak at the event in the Sindh University, Jamshoro, where students had scheduled a protest against controversial canals project on Tuesday.

Dr Zonur is known for his nationalist views and, as such, the Makli police feared that his speech at the event might fuel the outrage among participating students and their leaders. The topic of his speech was ‘Student movements and diversion of Indus water to the controversial canals’.

Although, Dr Zounr was later let off, he could not proceed to the university to attend the event due to the detention.

During his detention, several patients came to the police station and consulted Dr Zounr for medical examination and advice. The doctor continued to discharge his professional duty until his was let off. A number of nationalist and political activists also gathered outside the police station to protest against the doctor’s detention.

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2025