The Sindh government offered a “last chance” to sit-in organizers as Karachi residents continued to face traffic problems for the seventh day due to protests against the recent killings in Parachinar, located in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which They continued on Wednesday.
In Kurram, a Grand Jirga today managed to achieve a peace agreement after three weeks of efforts to negotiate a ceasefire amid violence in the area. Clashes stemming from decades of land disputes have claimed at least 130 lives since last month, and food and medicine shortages have been reported due to weeks-long road blockades.
Residents of Parachinar in Upper Kurram have also been staging a sit-in since December 20, which dawn.com The correspondent confirmed that it would continue today, against the public order situation and the closure of roads.
The religious political party Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) had called for nationwide protests to express solidarity with the people of Parachinar, following which the sit-ins in Karachi began on December 24 and further expanded last Thursday, causing traffic interruptions.
Yesterday, pitched battles broke out between the police and youth groups in multiple places in Karachi, with six police officers among at least 11 people injured, while law enforcement forces fired tear gas to expel protesters who were staging sit-ins against the blockade and killings in Parachinar.
As the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) also started counter-protest sit-ins at 14 locations, roads remained closed to traffic at 18 locations in the city last night.
Traffic disruptions persisted today as well after the MWM protests entered their ninth day (continuing at four points) while the ASWJ protests continued for a second day.
According to a Karachi Traffic Police statement issued at 11am, the MWM sit-ins continued to block Abul Hasan Ispahani Road near Abbas Town, Kamran Chowrangi, Numaish, University Road towards Samama Mall and Water Pump Chowrangi in Ancholi.
The Abul Hasan Ispahani road, which runs from Paradise Bakery to the highway, was closed, while the opposite road, which runs from the highway towards Maskan Chowrangi, was open to traffic in both directions.
A similar situation occurred in Ancholi and Numaish, where the road leading to Gurumandir was blocked, traffic police said. On University Road, smaller vehicles were being diverted to the service lane while heavier traffic was diverted onto residential streets.
As the MWM claimed that one of its sit-in participants in Malir-15, who was shot and injured during the violence, had succumbed to injuries, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar issued a warning to the protesters .
“I am offering the organizers of the sit-ins one last chance to save their reputation, but I warn them that roadblocks will not be allowed.
“We were told that roads would not be blocked and there was a speech by religious scholar Allama Raja Nasir Abbasi who declared that blocking roads was a sin,” he said.
Lanjar said the circumstances leading to the man’s death were unclear and an investigation was underway to determine the facts.
“The man’s death is ambiguous and the only thing I know at this moment is that (the murder) has nothing to do with the police action,” said the minister during a press conference at the Karachi police station, where he explained the reasons for the police action. against protesters to clear roads on Tuesday that sparked violence.
“We are conducting an investigation to determine the circumstances that led to the death,” he added.
Flanked by Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon and Karachi Additional IGP, Karachi, Javed Odho, the Home Minister said the organizers and participants of the sit-ins claimed that they were “peaceful” and were They asked who caused the injuries to eight police officers, including three gunshot wounds who were hospitalized with serious injuries to their vital organs.
He said eight private motorcycles and a traffic policeman’s bicycle were set on fire in Numaish and despite this, organizers said they were holding “peaceful” protests. “I asked who were those people who resorted to shooting at the police,” the minister asked.
Lanjar said a total of 19 protesters were arrested and three separate cases were registered at Soldier Bazaar, Sachal and Saudabad police over the violence at Numaish Chowrangi, Abbas Town and Malir-15 respectively, in which hundreds of people, including “known personalities” were arrested. for “attempted murder and terrorism charges.”
The minister justified police action to clear the streets of protesters because the blockade of main roads hindered the flow of traffic, causing inconvenience to citizens over the past week. He said people and different communities were complaining about roadblocks as people were unable to transport patients to hospitals or airports to catch flights.
“This was a critical issue for us,” Lanjar said, adding that the provincial government regretted the situation in Parachinar and stood in solidarity with the heirs of the victims. He said the Sindh government had also provided food and medicine to those affected.
But he said: “That does not mean paralyzing peaceful Karachi by blocking roads, resorting to violent means and causing harm to law enforcement.”
“This is not a solution to the problem.”
He said organizers initially asked authorities to record their protest at one location where they stayed for three days and then expanded the sit-ins throughout the metropolis. Referring to a series of meetings of ministers and officials, the Home Secretary said the government had offered protesters to record their protest in a way that would not disrupt traffic, but they had “unfortunately” rejected the offer.
“The organizers of the sit-in protests asked us that some youth did not agree with the government’s offer and that they (the leaders) would inform the authorities in a few hours,” Lanjar recalled.
He added that instead, the protesters expanded the protest “surrounding” Karachi, creating a law and order situation. He showed several photographs of traffic jams. Furthermore, the Minister said that in the meantime, in addition to the MWM, “other people” also started blocking the roads.
“When the government order was challenged, we were forced to take action,” he stated, adding that the Sindh government came forward when the citizens of Karachi were suffering. He said that the organizers told the authorities that they would organize sit-ins on the sides of the roads, but instead, the main roads of Sharea Pakistan, Sharea Faisal.etc were blocked.
“We have no problem with anyone, but the government order will be established,” the Interior Minister promised.
“If someone commits an illegal act and resorts to violence, we will take action.”
He offered religious scholars of any school of thought to record their protest at the “appropriate place”, but said: “We will not make any compromise if Numaish, Sharea Faisal, Ancholi and Malir etc. become a battlefield.”
Later, he said, protesters staged sit-ins at 10 locations and blocked main roads instead of sitting on the sides.
“The organizers of the sit-ins leave the streets and hold peaceful protests in certain places, otherwise we will take action.”
Meanwhile, ASWJ protests continued at Paracha Chowk near Gulbai and Shahrah-i-Orangi, the traffic police said.
However, according to ASWJ spokesperson Umar Muavia, the group was organizing protests at eight places: Naagin Chowrangi, Orangi Town, Sher Shah Chowk, Jilani Center near Tower, Fresco Chowk, Qayyumabad, Korangi No. 5 and Quaidabad.
In a statement, the banned group demanded a military operation in Parachinar and compensation to the heirs of the victims and damage to the properties there.
9 police officers and 7 protesters injured during a police action
Yesterday’s police action left nine police officers and seven protesters injured, according to lists published by the Sindh police, available with dawn.com.
At Numaish Chowrangi, six policemen, including a superintendent of the Anti-Terrorism Department, were injured by stones and one was injured by “gunshots”, according to a list.
Two police officers were injured by “gunshots” during the protests at Malir 15, National Highway, according to the list.
Another list, issued by the Sindh IG Operation Room, stated that seven protesters were “injured by firing” at Malir 15 and were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC).
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed confirmed that dawn.com that four men, named on the list of protesters issued by the police, suffered gunshot wounds.
According to Dr. Syed, Ali Raza had a “gunshot wound in [his] head” and was in critical condition. Qasim Zafar suffered a gunshot wound in the left leg, Mohsin Anwar in the right leg and an unidentified man received a gunshot wound in the abdomen, the doctor added.
In a statement, Sindh Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon promised that concrete action would be taken against those who “attacked the police and took the law into their own hands during the protests.”
Stating that the police had taken steps to establish the warrant, IGP Memon said “unfortunate incidents during the establishment of law and order” would be investigated on merit.
Additionally, he noted that police property was damaged and police officers were injured.
Lanjar visited the injured police officers who were receiving treatment at the Aga Khan University Hospital.
He ordered that the injured police officers be provided with the best possible medical facilities and that a police contact person remain in touch with their families.
Among the injured were Zagham Abbas of Model Colony police station, Ayaz Khan of Shaheen Force and Nawaz Ali of Special Security Unit, the Sindh information department said.
Police initially encountered no resistance as they dismantled tents and dispersed protesters at nearly six points, but later in the night, a clash between police and agitators at Malir 15 resulted in gunshot wounds to at least four protesters and two policemen
Regarding the police action in Numaish, IGP Memon said protesters also set fire to some police motorcycles while “some arrests” were made.
Meanwhile, the MWM condemned the police action and stated that more than two dozen of its workers were detained by law enforcement.
MWM spokesperson Syed Ali Ahmer Naqvi said Sunrise that in the morning, police fired tear gas and attacked protesters with batons at 10 locations, including the city of Abbas, and “forcibly ended the sit-ins.”
The MWM spokesperson claimed in a statement that law enforcers manhandled elderly scholar Allama Syed Hasan Zafar Naqvi in Numaish.
The party has promised to continue the protest.
Additional contributions from Javid Hussain
