LUMS academic among several protesters briefly detained during Baloch Yakjehti Committee rally

Police on Friday detained over 20 people, including academic Nida Kirmani, for violating Section 144 in the red zone of Karachi.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee had planned a rally from the Arts Council to the Karachi Press Club. Representatives of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and other civil society organisations also joined them.

The protesters gathered near the Arts Council of Pakistan where a heavy contingent of police were also deployed at around 3pm. The protesters staged a sit-in in front of the Arts Council. The road from the Arts Council to Pakistan Chowk were closed to traffic.

The protesters demanded the withdrawal of cases against Baloch Yakjehti Committee members and the acceptance of the demands of the sit-in protesters in Gwadar, including Immediate release of detained Baloch activists.

Following this, the police detained several protesters, leading to a scuffle between police and protesters, causing Arts Council Chowrangi to be closed to traffic. Over 20 people, including LUMS professor Nida Kirmani, were taken into custody and taken to different police stations. “Six to eight women, including me detained by police were released after a brief detention, while the male protesters remained in the police custody,” Nida Kirmani said while talking to The News. “I don’t understand why the police took action against us under the pretext of Section 144 being imposed, while at the same time another rally passed through the area without any action being taken.”

Section 144 is enforced in the red zone area until August 5 and the police said a case would be registered against all detained individuals for violating Section 144; however, no case had been registered till the filing of this news story late on Friday night.

Arambagh SHO Pervaiz Khan told The News that the female protesters were released while the male protesters remained in police custody. “We have 16 protesters in our custody,” SHO Khan confirmed. He said that no case has been registered against them and no male protester has been released so far.

Meanwhile, BYC strongly condemned the police action stating that Sindh Police resorted to severe violence against participants of the BYC rally, detaining around fifty Baloch women and men. Political activists and women were dragged along the streets and forcibly put into police vans before being taken to the police station.

The Baloch Yakjehti Committee organized a rally to protest the police violence, arrests and brutality in Gwadar. Participants were preparing to march from the Arts Council to the Karachi Press Club when the police resorted to baton charges. Despite the arrests, a large number of protesters continued their sit-in near the Arts Council, which is still ongoing.

In a press release issued by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee spokesperson, concerns were raised over the police brutality in Karachi. The spokesperson emphasized that peaceful protest is a constitutional right of every citizen, a right that the government itself is violating. The spokesperson lamented that the government is not only depriving people of their democratic rights but also trampling on all traditions and values through severe violence.

The statement further highlighted that women, children, and the elderly were part of the protest rally and were subjected to severe violence and dragged along the streets. The spokesperson condemned the authoritarian approach of the so-called democratic system, deeming it unacceptable.

The statement stressed that the Baloch issue is political and requires a political solution through dialogue. The use of force has been damaging in the past and continues to be so. They called for the missing persons to be presented in court according to the constitution.