KARACHI, June 27: Massive deployment of the police and blockade of various roads on Sunday thwarted the efforts mounted by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) to hold a 'peace' march near the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam.

Many leaders and activists of the MMA who attempted to reach the venue were arrested. Those who were arrested included Secretary-General of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Syed Munawwar Hasan, MNAs Asadullah Bhutto and Mohammad Hussain Mehanti and MPAs Omar Sadiq, Nasrullah Shaji, Younus Barai, Hameedullah and Hafiz Mohammad Taqi. Maulana Abdul Karim Abid and Dr Mairajul Huda were also picked up.

Despite the blockade of the M.A. Jinnah Road at various points, dozens of people had tried to reach the venue which resulted in clashes between them and the law-enforcement agencies. Some of the MMA leaders, including Asadullah Bhutto, Dr Mairajul Huda and Hafiz Taqi, offered their Asr prayers near the Radio Pakistan building and later staged a sit-in.

The police reached the spot and started beating up, with batons, the MMA activists who did not offer any resistance. The senior MMA leaders, however, were spared the batons. Many of the leaders and activists were arrested from this place.

"We have arrested 304 protesters from various areas in the city," said the city police chief, Tariq Jamil. "These people include those who were picked up during our night-long raids." He said 5,000 policemen were deployed to maintain law and order.

The police had to resort to teargas shelling near the Tibet Centre where they were pelted with stones by the protesters, he said. One protester and a policeman were injured in scuffles there.

The MMA disputed the police claim, saying that a total of 2,500 protesters had been picked up by the police and paramilitary forces, including its leaders and members.

Hundreds of water-tankers, buses, minibuses and huge containers were used to blockade different roads.

A body representing the transporters of the city complained that the police had forcibly taken control of the vehicles to block roads.

The roads were blocked late on Saturday while a heavy deployment of police personnel took place on Sunday morning. The motorists and commuters using public transport vehicles faced considerable difficulty in reaching their destinations due to the blockage of important roads.

The vehicular traffic from S.M. Taufiq Road in Liaquatabad was diverted either to Nishter Road or the Jail Chowrangi as the Jehangir and Jamshed roads had been closed by the police in an effort to block the access to M.A. Jinnah Road.

Similarly, buses and minibuses had been parked across the Business Recorder Road near Lasbella. Shahrah-i-Quaideen was blocked and the New M.A. Jinnah Road was also closed for traffic from Jail Chowrangi onwards. The Jamaat-i-Islami's headquarters, Idara Noor-i-Haq, had been cordoned off.

The Aiwan-i-Saddar Road was blocked. The road connecting the Arts Council roundabout with the Aiwan-i-Saddar Road was also closed for traffic. Due to the closure of these roads, vehicles were moving at a snail's pace in Kharadar, Garden, Soldier Bazaar and the adjoining areas.

Meanwhile, clashes between the MMA activists and police and rangers personnel took place near Guru Mandir, Tibet Centre and Radio Pakistan building where the law enforcers had to use force to disperse the protesters.

Youths in groups appeared at these locations many times and raised slogans against the government.

The police vans kept on patrolling from the Numaish roundabout to Jama Cloth Market on the M.A. Jinnah Road and arrested many protesters.