Karachi police on Friday detained around half a dozen people to prevent them from moving towards the site of a protest scheduled by the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), held as part of nationwide demonstrations against the recently passed 27th Constitutional Amendment.
Police closed all roads leading to the Karachi Press Club (KPC) after buses and other heavy vehicles were parked to block access. In addition to the rest of the personnel, contingents of female personnel were also deployed.
Some protesters were detained when they tried to reach the Kosovo Protection Corps.
Also detained was civil society activist Alifya Sohail, who was not part of the TTAP protest, who was initially taken to the Artillery Maidan police station, where her phone was taken away and she was not allowed to contact anyone.
She was later taken to an unknown location. Lawyer and civil rights activist Jibran Nasir also highlighted the issue and called for his immediate release.
She stated that she and another activist were reportedly taken to the women’s police station in Sharae Faisal.
“Both of them have not been released. The allegations against both of them are that they are members of the PTI. So being a member of the PTI is now a sufficient offense for them to arrest you without an FIR and harass you by taking you from one police station to another,” he said.
PTI Sindh spokesperson Mohammed Ali Bozdar said Sunrise that “more than two dozen protesters” were detained near the KPC.
Tehrik-i-Numandagi Awam protest
The protest organized by Tehrik-i-Numandagi Awam brought together members of civil society, grassroots activists and lawyers who collectively condemned and rejected the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
It marked the launch of the platform, which is “a national movement formed to restore the Constitution, defend fundamental rights and restore the rule of the people,” according to a press release issued by the group.
It was held amid an intense police deployment in front of the Kosovo Protection Corps, where contingents of police could be seen carrying batons.
Dr. Ammar Ali Jan, a Lahore-based academic, speaking to Sunriseattacked the 27th Amendment, calling it an “affront” to democracy.
Jan stressed that the “Constitution is a contract between the people and the State,” noting that with the approval of the 27th Amendment, the State was blocking all avenues of “resistance to the system.”
“Where would an ordinary person go to get justice when all legal avenues are blocked?” he questioned.
Samrina Hashmi, one of the participants, condemned the amendment and expressed frustration over the current situation while speaking to Sunrise.
“I am 65 years old. I am very frustrated. When will I see my country flourish? We have been fighting all our lives against martial law, dictatorship. It seems that we are going back to 1958,” she commented, in an apparent reference to the military coup organized by General Ayub Khan in 1958.
Organizer Riaz Ahmed said Sunrise that the amendment was a “question mark over the state of our judiciary.”
He asked for the annulment of amendments 26 and 27.
On the issue of resistance to the amendment, Ahmed said Sunrise that “there was solid momentum” against him.
