THATTA, Feb 28: An FIR was registered here on Monday against People's Party Parliamentarians MPA Humera Alwani, district People's Labour Bureau president Nawaz Himayati and 70 party activists for blocking the National Highway and instigating labourers.

Dhabeji SHO Anwar Awan stated in the FIR that the PPP activists had blocked the highway by staging a sit-in on Feb 18 to support demands of labourers of the Indus Jute Mills, Dhabeji, causing inconvenience to passengers. He said the protesters had raised anti-government slogans and disturbed law and order.

Talking to Dawn, Hamid Alwani, spouse of the booked MPA and a party activist, said a heavy contingent of police, mostly in plain clothes, had raided the Dinabad village, Mirpur Sakro taluka, on Monday morning and misbehaved with and harassed their relatives to arrest the MPA.

When contacted in Karachi, Humera Alwani said she was moving the Sindh High Court for a protective bail. She said she would also submit a direct complaint in the court against the Sindh IGP, Mirpur Sakro TPO, DPOs, operation and investigation wings, and the Dhabeji SHO for registering what she called a fictitious case against her and other party activists.

She said she would also raise the issue on the floor of the assembly. District PPP president Syed Masood Mustafa Shah said a party delegation, comprising MPA Sassui Palijo, Dr Wahid Soomro, Syed Shafiq Shah and other leaders, would meet the DPO, DCO and other authorities concerned to bring political victimization of party activists and police atrocities against them into their notice.

He said the party's Supreme Council and Sindh Council would hold a joint meeting on Friday in Thatta to discuss the issue. He further said the Thatta chapter of the party had also called a press conference on Monday night to condemn registration of fake cases against party activists.