Protesters face water cannon for trying to hand a memo to governor

Their sit-in continued outside the Karachi Press Club for 75 days straight. But they felt that the relevant authorities did not pay heed to their demands, and that they had somehow failed to convey them their message. They were sure that a sit-in would help them communicate with them.

Then they heard the news that Prime Minister Imran Khan will be in Karachi on Sunday. Believing it to be a great opportunity, they decided to march on the Sindh Governor House on their 76th day of protest and demand their rights.

Before they could approach the Governor House, however, officials of the law enforcement agencies, particularly the police, were deployed along the route to prevent the demonstrators from reaching their destination.

Around 1,200 workers attempted to move from the press club to the Governor House. “Maybe we did something wrong by holding a peaceful protest,” Hussain Badshah, the general secretary of the Workers Union of Port Qasim (CBA), told The News.

The workers attempted to walk towards the Governor House, but the police had already placed barricades along the route. “We decided to march on the Governor House via Zaibunnisa Street,” said a worker.

“We should not have wasted so much time. This [march] should have been carried out on the first day of our protest, because no one here hears the voices of peaceful people.” As the protesters moved towards Zaibunnisa Street, the police used batons, tear gas and water cannon to stop them. The Zaibunnisa market area resembled a battlefield for an hour or so.

During the police action, about a dozen protesters were detained for trying to move towards the Governor House, which is a red zone and where Section 144 has already been imposed. The protesters also pelted the police with stones. However, Badshah said: “We didn’t want to take the law into our own hands, and our 75 days of peaceful protest is an example of that.”

He clarified that “we only wanted to present a memorandum to the governor about our issues, but the police treated us like we are anti-state elements.” The workers had also brought their children with them before moving towards the Governor House. “The presence of our children gave a clear message that we didn’t want to take the law into our own hands, but we still weren’t treated well,” said a protester named Arshad Ali.

Some 1,760 people have been protesting for the past 76 days. Majority of them are over 60 years old. They were fired from the Port Qasim Authority and have been demanding that they be paid their salaries and other dues.

The union leaders said the workers had later returned to their camp outside the press club to continue their sit-in, as the relevant authorities, including the police, had assured them of complete cooperation.

“The authorities have assured us that they will take us to the Governor House so we may present our memorandum,” said a union leader said, adding that the sit-in will continue until their demands are met. The detained protesters were later taken to different District South police stations. Artillery Maidan SHO Muhammad Anwar said that all the detained workers were later released.

“They are very peaceful people. They immediately stopped their march after the police used water cannon,” said the SHO, adding that no case was registered against the workers and their protest march.