Karachi police bust up a Rally held by the PTI, complete with batons and tear gas.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf protesters, including women, marched on the so-called red zone’ in Karachi on Friday for the second day in a row, this time in response to the alleged “assassination attempt” on former prime minister Imran Khan. Police responded with tear gas shelling and a baton charge.
The PTI attempted to rally in front of the Karachi Press Club, but the police detained several of its members, including women.
While over a dozen male workers remained in police custody, the police later claimed that the woman workers were freed shortly after incarceration.
In the afternoon, PTI Karachi president Bilal Ghaffar sent out a video message inviting party members, sympathizers, and all residents of Karachi to a protest on the main Sharea Faisal, next to the Nursery bus stop.
In response to the PPP government, the opposition party claims that it is “using harsh force in political vendetta.”
The workers gathered at the party office, known as Insaf House, where the leaders gave brief statements, outlined the protest’s strategy, and swore to maintain calm.
Minutes after the crowd gathered on Sharea Faisal, blocking off one lane of the main road, the party leaders made a declaration that they would be marching to the Karachi Press Club.
An overwhelming police presence moved in an attempt to halt the employees, but they were unsuccessful.
Following the nearly one-mile march, senior police officials attempted to negotiate with PTI leaders but ultimately failed. Near Regent Plaza, police used tear gas and batons to disperse the protesters.
Several protestors, including female party workers, were arrested and taken away in police vehicles. During this incident, PTI MPA Raja Azhar’s foot was hit by a shell, severely injuring him.
The government defended the police crackdown, claiming that PTI leaders were to blame for breaking the law by refusing to comply despite repeated warnings.
The SSP for the south, Asad Raza, said that the PTI members had broken the rules by holding their rally in the Red Zone.
We couldn’t allow the people to block the vital road unexpectedly and march on Red Zone, so we communicated with the party officials and pleaded with them to turn back calmly. In the end, the resistance provoked cops to taking action.
The leaders of the PTI said that the Pakistan Peoples Party had used “political vendetta” to justify the use of excessive force by the police.
They said that the PPP government did not even notice the women protesters.
“It’s a complete cruelty,” said Bilal Ghaffar, president of the PTI in Karachi and a member of parliament.
The PPP, which presents itself as a champion of democracy, “never gave women employees any consideration.”
He stated, “The Sindh police have become a political wing of the administration. But we won’t let that deter us. The protest movement will carry on as planned, and we will soon reveal our next strategy. Despite this savagery, we are a peaceful group that will not stand for the success of a plot that has been planned to provoke our employees.
