KARACHI: A police mobile van was torched and two policemen were hurt when people protesting over what officials described as a sectarian issue turned violent in an Orangi Town area on Monday evening.

They said that scores of people gathered in Mominabad to lodge their protest against a man for passing some blasphemous remarks.

When a police patrol rushed to the scene and tried to disperse the crowd, the protesters started pelting policemen with stones. As a result, Mominabad SHO Zahid Lodhi and a constable suffered minor injuries.

The charged protesters also set the police mobile on fire. A contingent of police rushed to the spot and prevented the situation from deteriorating further.

The officials said that a fire engine controlled the blaze.

Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed said that Mominabad SHO Zahidullah Lodhi, 45, and Constable Zameer, 50, were brought to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in an injured condition.

She said the SHO suffered injuries on the face while the constable suffered wounds in his head and face. Their condition was out of danger.

The police accused that members of an outlawed banned sectarian outfit were ‘involved in the riot’.

However, Umer Muaviya, a spokesperson for the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, said they had nothing to do with the protest.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2022