• Law enforcers use tear gas to stop protesting workers from staging sit-in outside PA building
• JI announces sit-ins on 10 locations across Karachi today
• Sharjeel, Lanjar defend crackdown, cite law violations

KARACHI: Clashes broke out on Saturday as workers of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), attempting to stage a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly, were met with a police blockade, triggering baton charges and tear gas shelling that sent protesters scattering through adjoining streets and heightened tensions in the city’s Red Zone.

Scores of JI workers attempted to stage a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly, demanding sweeping changes to the city’s local government system and the resignation of Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab.

What began as a political show of strength quickly escalated into tense confrontations with police, leaving parts of the city centre engulfed in tear gas and chaos.

The protest, announced earlier by the JI, was aimed at pressing for what the party describes as a “powerful and autonomous” local government structure for Karachi.

The party has also been calling for the resignation of the mayor and criticising the Sindh government for “administrative failures” in the metropolis.

Dozens of party workers, led by JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar Khan, marched from the Saddar area towards Sindh Assembly Road in the afternoon. Police had already placed barricades along key routes leading to the assembly, preventing the protesters from advancing.

Tensions escalated when demonstrators attempted to push past the barriers. According to witnesses, police responded with baton charges and tear gas shelling after protesters moved forward. While some workers managed to cross the barricades and gather near the Sindh Assembly building, intermittent clashes continued in adjoining streets.

During the tear gas shelling, one shell reportedly landed inside residential quarters attached to a mosque near Burns Road, sparking a fire in part of the structure. Authorities have not yet confirmed the extent of the damage or whether any injuries were sustained.

The situation remained fluid into the evening, with a heavy police presence in the area and traffic disruptions reported across the Red Zone.

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said that police and the provincial government had been in contact with the party’s administration since 4pm, telling them that they could protest, but not enter the Red Zone.

“They were strictly forbidden from entering the Red Zone, but despite that, JI party workers entered the Red Zone, pelted stones at the police, and also tried to enter the assembly,” Mr Memon said.

He added that police “were forced” to use tear gas and arrest the workers.

“You cannot enter the Red Zone under [Section] 144; the JI entering like this is a violation of the law,” he said. “No one will be allowed to take the law into their own hands.”

Asked about comments by JI Pakistan chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, who maintained that the protesters “were peaceful”, the senior minister questioned why they had come to the assembly when it was closed.

Mr Memon claimed that the only reason they wanted to enter the assembly was to vandalise it.

In a statement, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said that it had already been stated that permission would not be given to march towards the Sindh Assembly.

“Police were pelted with stones; we were forced to take this step,” he said.

“Nobody is allowed to violate the law … taking the law into your own hands is absolutely not permitted,” he said.

The home minister appealed to the public to remain peaceful and not become an instrument of those who wanted to spread chaos.

Meanwhile, the JI chief Naeem took to X (formerly Twitter) and said that the “entire country is witnessing the fascism” of the Pakistan Peoples Party, attaching videos and photos of police action against the protesters.

“Using tear gas on peaceful citizens and attempting to stop the sit-in at the Sindh Assembly is proof of the Sindh government’s failure and desperation,” he said.

In a late night development, the JI announced that it would stage sit-ins on 10 spots in the metropolis on Sunday (today) in protest over police brutality.

The sit-ins would be held at Sharea Faisal, Shahrah-i-Pakistan, Superhighway, National Highway, Mauripur Road, Shahrah-i-Korangi, Shahrah-i-Orangi and other important arteries of the mega city.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2026