Nationwide protests erupt against police crackdown on Karachi sit-in

2گھنٹے پہلے

Nationwide protests erupt against police crackdown on Karachi sit-in

Lahore, Feb 15: On the call of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman, nationwide protests were held on Sunday against the police brutality and shelling on participants of a peaceful sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly in Karachi.
Demonstrations were organised in Islamabad, all four provincial capitals — Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta — as well as Muzaffarabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, and numerous cities across Sindh and Punjab. Protesters strongly condemned the Sindh government’s actions, terming the use of force against peaceful demonstrators as fascist and against democratic norms.
In Lahore, the protest was led by JI Vicr-Emir Liaqat Baloch, Lahore Emir Ziauddin Ansari, and Secretary General Azhar Bilal. Addressing the gathering, Liaqat Baloch said Karachi’s citizens had taken to the streets to demand their basic and constitutional rights, but were met with violence and arrests. He termed the crackdown a blatant violation of democratic values and vowed that Jamaat-e-Islami would continue its constitutional and democratic struggle for the rights of Karachi’s people.
Ziauddin Ansari demanded the immediate release of all detained protesters, stating that peaceful protest was a fundamental constitutional right that could not be suppressed through force. Azhar Bilal said Karachi, as the country’s economic hub, deserved better governance and basic civic facilities, adding that citizens seeking their rights should be protected, not criminalised.
Protests were also held across Sindh, including in Sukkur, Dadu, Jacobabad, Ghotki, Larkana, Shikarpur, Kandhkot, Naushahro Feroze, Tando Allahyar, Thatta, Kotri, Tando Muhammad Khan, Badin and Nawabshah. Speakers condemned what they called police brutality, shelling, and mass arrests, demanding accountability and justice.
In Hazara and Islamabad, JI leaders also led demonstrations, denouncing the crackdown as an authoritarian act and warning that attempts to silence public voices would only widen the protest movement across the country.
At the conclusion of the rallies, protesters passed resolutions condemning the Sindh government’s actions and expressing solidarity with the detained workers and teachers in Karachi.