Police action on lawyers in Karachi sparks protests in Hyderabad, adjoining districts

HYDERABAD: Lawyers staged sit-ins in Hyderabad and Jamshoro on Sunday evening in protest against the police’s baton charge on protesting lawyers earlier in the day in Karachi’s District Malir.

On Sunday morning, police used force to end the lawyers’ sit-in on the Karachi-Thatta National Highway, which sparked anger across Sindh. In response, the lawyers in various districts announced sit-ins at 5pm.

In Hyderabad, lawyers blocked the Wadhu Wah bypass and held a protest, which was joined by a large number of citizens, including nationalist parties. Due to the protest sit-ins, traffic going to Karachi and Sukkur was completely stopped, causing long queues of vehicles on the highway.

While addressing the protesters during the demonstration, leaders of the lawyers and nationalist parties said that if force was used against the Baberlo sit-in or any anti-canal protest elsewhere in Sindh, the sit-ins would spread across the province.

Meanwhile, in Jamshoro, lawyers and nationalist parties separately staged sit-ins on the Indus Highway and the National Highway, which disrupted traffic heading towards Karachi and Dadu. In Matiari district, a nationalist party staged a sit-in on the National Highway, causing vehicles to come to a standstill.

At around 9pm, the sit-ins at the Hyderabad Bypass, Jamshoro National Highway and Matiari National Highway ended. The sit-in on the Indus Highway in Jamshoro was still going on when this story was filed.