KARACHI - Gulberg police on Thursday late night “picked up” Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Chairman Asad Iqbal Butt from his house but allowed him to go after questioning him for a couple of hours. According to a police source, he was taken into custody in a raid on his residence in Federal B Area “in a bid to stop his participation in the July 28 rally against enforced disappearance in Gwadar.” He said the HRCP chief was “detained” over reports that he was going to attend a rally was being organised by the Baloch Yakjehi Committee (BYC).
According to HRCP member, Prof Dr Tauseef Ahmed, police raided his at around 1:30 after midnight. They took him to police station for “interrogation” about his intention to attend the rally. He (Dr Tauseef) and other rights activists reached the police station on receiving the news of his arrest. Police allowed him to go at around 4pm, he added. Meanwhile, the BYC organisers said that several of its workers had been arrested by law enforcement agencies from different parts of Karachi since Wednesday.
They claimed that three Baloch activists were taken away from Lyari for distributing pamphlets and installing banners for the BYC rally in Gwadar. Another activist was taken away from Old Golimar, they stated.