KARACHI, May 19: “The British government does not have a problem with people protesting at 10 Downing Street, but they would not allow a peaceful group of grief-stricken people near the High Commission here,” a young protester, Ovais Khurshid, told Dawn at a vigil held here to protest against the killing of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Zahrah Shahid Husain on Sunday evening.

Those not associated with the PTI directly learnt about the candlelit vigil through Twitter and Facebook. That is how the authorities, too, found out about it and set up blockades on the road right from the Do Talwar traffic intersection and onall the ways leading to the British Deputy High Commission from there.

Those who got lost in the dark back lanes and alleys were then said to be misguided by the policemen posted there. “There is no rally. We did not let it happen, so go back home!” said an inspector standing at a turning near Runnymede. But then in another street someone else in uniform mentioned that the “jaloos had been stopped at Park Towers”. And that was from where one could hear the people chanting slogans at a distance. Following the sounds one finally spotted the peaceful group, some standing, some sitting, some lying down on the road near 70 Clifton.

“What harm had a 60-year-old lady brought to anyone to deserve such a fate? We urge the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take a suo motu notice of the merciless killing of a respected member of our civil society,” said PTI’s NA-253 candidate Ashraf Qureshi.

The party’s women wing president for Sindh, Nazia Rabbani, said: “We are peaceful people. When we come out on the roads, we do not even break a light bulb. But we are fired at by people who are clear enemies of this country’s peace. They attacked us in Hyderabad, they killed our Zahra Apa. We cannot tolerate this!”

Most of the men gathered at the rally, like a young PTI volunteer Mohammad Shoaib, had arrived straight from the graveyard after the burial of Zahrah Shahid Husain.

Another volunteer, Khalid Mir, said that he did not know the slain leader personally, but his wife had worked with her closely.

“But I am here for the PTI. We are united in our grief,” he said.

“She was a professor and a very decent and dignified lady. She ran NGOs. It was not as if she belonged to some militant wing,” said another young PTI volunteer Mohammad Ali Amin.

“The police at all blockades on roads misguided us on the way, but we are all calling each other to arrive here and show unity against this uncalled-for killing of a decent human being,” said Tania F. Sayani.

To discourage the people, the streetlights at 70 Clifton were also turned off after a while. But that was when the candles came out and after being lit they glowed even more brightly in the pitch-black night.