KARACHI: Activists and civil society representatives staged a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Friday to demand the release of human rights defender and political activist Idrees Khattak.

Gathered under the umbrella of the Idrees Khattak Release Committee, the protesters, carrying banners and placards, converged outside the KPC, demanding Mr Khattak’s release.

Organisers said that Mr Khattak has been in detention since November 2019 and was convicted and sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment in December 2021 by a military court. He had been associated with Amnesty International and had investigated enforced disappearances in the erstwhile tribal areas and Balochistan.

They said that Mr Khattak had already spent seven years in solitary confinement and he should be released.

One of the protesters told Dawn that at one point the police snatched the placards and detained three persons without giving any reason.

However, senior police officers remained tight-lipped when Dawn tried to reach out for their version.

Also on Friday, several international organisations expressed their concern over inadequate medical care to Mr Khattak and called on authorities to release him unconditionally.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2026