Activists demand inquiry into manhandling of protesters

Rights activists continued to hold a protest camp outside the Karachi Press Club on Monday for a second consecutive day demanding an inquiry into the maltreatment they faced during their protest a day earlier.

The camp, which was set up on Sunday, has been organised by the Voice for Missing Persons along with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Sindhi Adabi Sangat, Awami Jamhoori Party and others to show solidarity with the families of missing persons.

Speaking about the events that transpired on Sunday, Shireen Asad, an activist, told The News that the families affected by the ongoing wave of enforced disappearances across the province had camped outside the KPC once again to ask for their constitutional rights.

She said that the camp comprised mostly of women and all the activists were just sitting outside the KPC, a place designated for protests, but soon, men in plain clothes started telling them to wind up their protest or “face consequences”.

Asad added that a while later, some of the protesters were walking towards the road across the press club when men in plain clothes attempted to apprehend them. However, seeing that, the women rushed to save their peers and that was when they were manhandled.

According to Sorath Lohar, the chairperson for Voice for Missing Persons, the men mistreated the women protesters while Rangers officials were also present there. “The men were hitting us so that we would let go of the ones they were trying to pick up, and they went on to push us and also tore our clothes,” she said. “Because of the commotion, they were able to detain four of the protesters and took them away.”

Lohar added: “Although the detainees returned home early Monday morning, their return hasn’t ensured that an inquiry would be conducted against the law-enforcement agencies.” Speaking out against the brutality, Asad said the protesters were out demanding their constitutional rights and the treatment meted out to them was unacceptable.

“We have said it before and we will say it again today. If any of these people have committed a crime, then there are courts present to hold them accountable,” she said regarding people who have gone missing.

Asad Butt of the HRCP condemned the mistreatment of protesters and said that the concept of representatives of law-enforcement agencies using violence against women and children was a rarity but since last November, it is becoming fairly common and needs to be curbed.

“This negative trend will eventually lead to the collapse of an entire institution,” he said. “The space for women is already very limited, by these tactics it will get narrower. The protesting women were only exercising their right, so dragging them and later hitting them is highly condemnable.”

“If there was a need to make arrests, although there shouldn’t have been, women police constables should have been called instead of manhandling. Once the protest is over, HRCP will call an urgent meeting to discuss this because such treatment needs to be addressed urgently,” he added.

Bilawal issues statement

Taking notice of the incident, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chief of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, asked the Sindh government to ensure that peaceful protests are not dealt with the use of force. In a statement issued on Monday, Bilawal said that holding peaceful protests or sit-ins without disturbing the law and order was the democratic right of each and every citizen and hence it should be protected.