KARACHI: As many as 30 Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) activists were on Sunday remanded in police custody in a terrorism and rioting case registered following their botched protest near the Sindh Assembly on Saturday.

The investigating officer of the case produced the held suspects before a duty magistrate at the City Courts, who gave them to police custody on one-day transit remand.

The held activists would be produced before an anti-terrorism court on Monday (today) for remand.

The Arambagh police registered a case against them under Sections 147 (rioting), 324 (attempted murder), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Inspector Raja Masood Ahmed, the complainant, stated in the FIR that he saw JI’s senior leadership including Sufiyan Dilawar, Usman Sharif, Faizan, Jawad Shoaib and others leading a protest. He alleged that they were chanting slogans, delivering provocative speeches and suddenly became violent and attacked law enforcers, resulting in injuries to him and three other policemen.

JI holds protest demos across city

On Sunday evening, the JI held multiple sit-ins at more than 10 major thoroughfares against what the “state repression” during its recent demonstration outside the Sindh Assembly.

While the sit-ins remained largely peaceful, traffic disruptions were reported in some areas during peak evening hours.

Police maintained a visible presence at several protest sites to prevent any untoward incident.

The protests, the party said, were part of a countrywide ‘day of action’ announced by the its central leadership. The sit-ins were organised at Sharea Faisal, Superhighway, National Highway, Shahrah-i-Pakistan, Shahrah-i-Orangi, Hub River Road, Lasbela Chowk, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and other major intersections.

Addressing one of the sit-ins at Lasbela Chowk, JI-Karachi chief Monem Zafar condemned the registration of terrorism cases against party workers for exercising their democratic right to hold protests.

“Our workers are not afraid of arrests,” he said and urged the government to refrain from using “strong-arm tactics”.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2026