KARACHI: Eight leaders and workers from different left-wing political parties were detained outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC), reportedly to prevent them from attending a multi-party conference called by the Popular Left Alliance (PLA), according to organisers. However, police denied the claim.

Imdad Qazi, the secretary general of the Communist Party of Pakistan and the convenor of the PLA, told Dawn that the 10-party alliance had called the moot to debate democracy and authoritarianism in Pakistan. However, police contingents were already deployed in the area, he said.

“Five veteran political workers, namely Husain Fatimi, Dr Hasan Nasir, Ramzam Memon, Shaheena, Mohammed Farooq and three other activists were apprehended by the police outside the KPC, to prevent them from attending the conference,” Qazi alleged.

Meanwhile, South Senior Superintendent of Police Mahzoor Ali denied the claim that arrests were made outside the KPC.

In a statement, the PLA said, “Complete authoritarian rule has been imposed in the country. This time, this authoritarianism has been enforced through so-called democratic institutions.”

It added that during the conference, police cordoned off the KPC as the majority of the participants were arrested right at the entrance, which was strongly condemned.

Meanwhile, it said that the moot expressed “serious concerns” over the situation in Balochistan and called for resolving the Balochistan problem through “political and democratic means and in accordance with the wishes of the people of Balochistan”.

According to the statement, the conference also demanded the revocation of all changes made to the Constitution in the last five years, particularly the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, and the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments.

The participants also demanded the release of all “arrested and convicted political prisoners”, including Iman Mazari-Hazir, Hadi Ali Chattha, Mahrang Baloch and others.

The moot also expressed solidarity with all families affected in the Gul Plaza fire and demanded “strict punishment for those responsible for these tragic incidents and called on the government to ensure all necessary safety measures to prevent such occurrences in the future”.

The participants further expressed serious concern over the “tactics used by the institutions” to pressurise press clubs across the country and demanded an immediate end to such harassment.

At the end of the conference, the United States’ raid on Venezuela last month and preparations for another act of aggression against Iran were strongly condemned. It urged the government to take a clear stand against this “open aggression”.