KARACHI - Sindh Police on Monday baton charged participants of a pro-judiciary rally by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in Karachi and arrested several party leaders and workers including the central general secretary of PTI Dr Arif Alvi.
The PTI protestors were stopped from entering the red zone which triggered a clash with the police. Police also used water cannon to disperse protestors near Zaibunissa Street. The rally was headed towards the Karachi Press Club by-passing the red zone area.
The streets around Zaibunissa Street and Fawara Chowk turned into battlegrounds with policeman chasing and lashing the protestors and truck-mounted water guns targeting the protestors with powerful bursts. Several protestors and commuters were injured.
Several workers of the PTI including the party general secretary Dr Arif Alvi, PTI Karachi President Ashraf Qureshi, Sultan Ahmed, Amir Sharjeel, Shahnawaz Asad Omar, Jadoon, Shireen Khan, Taufiq Ali Hoti and dozens of workers of PTI were arrested by the Police.
The pro-judiciary rally of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was part of countrywide rallies of the party held across the country on the directives of PTI Chief Imran Khan in support of judiciary in the backdrop of Malik Riaz-Dr Arsalan Case.
PTI central deputy secretary Imran Ismail has strongly condemned violent measures of Sindh government to stop party activists from holding a peaceful rally in Karachi to express solidarity with judiciary. He demanded the government to immediately release the detained party leaders and workers and warned that they would stage massive protest campaign against the government if detained workers were not released. The PTI leaders claimed that protestors were severely beaten by the police before detention and police used abusive languages against the superior judiciary.
He vowed that the PTI would ready to render all sacrifices for the freedom and dignity of Judiciary saying that judiciary is the only ray of hope for the oppressed people of the country.
Ismail warned the rulers to refrain from such cruel measures in future, saying that staging protest was the democratic right of every party.