Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Hassan Zafar Naqvi announced the end of all his sit-ins in Karachi late on Wednesday night. A spokesman for Ahlus Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), however, said that their sit-ins will continue until their leadership issues instructions to end them.
MWM has been staging a dharna since December 24 in Karachi to show solidarity with the people of Parachinar and Kurram Agency. Clashes broke out between police and protesters on Tuesday as they tried to end the sit-in.
Karachi Police on Wednesday registered three cases for blocking roads, attacking police, damaging public and private property and other offences. Provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) were also included. Police registered cases against 700 people, including MWM leadership, women and mostly unidentified protesters.
A case was registered at the Soldier Bazar police station on the complaint of SHO Waqar Azim about the clashes between the police and the protestors in the central sit-in of Samaal. The case was registered against six named scholars and 350 others including women.
It has been written in the FIR that the road closure caused a lot of inconvenience to the public which created fear and anxiety among the people present there and when the police arrived, they saw that the protestors were Allama Sadiq Taqvi, Maulana Naqvi, Allama Ali Mubasher Zaidi. , Allama Mukhtar Emami has incited. And Maulana Asghar Shahidi
Police said they urged the protesters to end the sit-in, but the MWM leadership and others incited the crowd, resulting in a violent situation. The rioters, including about 250 men and several women, caused extensive damage to police and private property, setting some of it on fire, officials said.
He added that six policemen were injured during the clashes, as the area turned into a battleground. The police said that they arrested 19 people including Shaheedee and confiscated the items used during riots and violence from the possession of various people.
Another case was registered by SHO Zameer Ahmed in Saudabad police station against 150 persons including named accused. The FIR states that during the dharna on the National Highway, the police were negotiating with the protesters to end the demonstration when the crowd started rioting.
The police said that the protesters attacked them with sticks and stones and unidentified persons fired directly at the police and civilians injuring two policemen and also torched two motorcycles parked nearby. Officials said that when action was taken against the accused, they fled to nearby residential areas.
The third case was registered against 150 people, including the sons of Emami and Hasan Tarabi, on the complaint of injured police officer Asif Siddiqui in Sachal police station.
Despite all this, MWM’s main sit-in in Nomesh continued on Wednesday, along with protests at three other locations: Abbas Town, Kamran Chowrangi and Incholi. Meanwhile, the ASWJ staged sit-ins at around a dozen locations for the second day in a row.
Most of these protests by MWM and ASWJ took place on the side of service roads or main roads resulting in minimal disruption to traffic movement.
In their press conference, MWM leaders condemned the Sindh government for using the police to break up the sit-ins, and accused law enforcement agencies of burning private property and inciting violence.
MWM central leader Naqvi addressed the press conference along with Allama Sadiq Jafari, Allama Mubasher Hasan, Emami, Agha Ali Rizvi and Razi Haider among others. They alleged that the government was threatening them continuously. He criticized the Chief Minister, and asked him to stay within his limits.
They accused the government of state repression, propaganda and involvement of banned organizations to counter their protests. On this occasion, videos of police brutality were also shown during the sit-in. They said police damaged private property, torched motorcycles and sound systems, and cracked down on “peaceful” protests.
He also condemned the direct firing by the police in Malir 15 in which two youths were injured. He claimed that a protester named Shabih Haider was killed and dozens were injured due to police violence.
He said that the “PPP-controlled police force” has been in the grip of corruption for the past 15 years. Allegations of corrupt officers being posted at the same place for two decades were made.
The MWM demanded the immediate resignation of the chief minister, blaming him and state institutions for violence against “peaceful” protesters. He also rejected the Home Minister’s statements and called them misleading and uninformed.
They said a government delegation had previously visited their sit-ins to show solidarity, and questioned the crackdown on “peaceful” protests. They said that the alleged filing of false cases, arrests and torture were state repression. He demanded justice for those killed or injured during the clashes, and condemned the “fabricated” cases against innocent youth.
Meanwhile, the ASWJ spokesperson said that they will end their protests in Karachi once the MWM protest ends. They continued their dharna at about a dozen locations across the city.
ASWJ has always played a role in maintaining peace, and will continue to do so, the spokesman said, adding that the organizers ensured smooth flow of traffic, and gave passage to ambulances so as not to inconvenience the public.
Sindh Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hasan Linjar and the Provincial Police Chief visited the injured policemen at the hospital. The police chief submitted the report regarding the sit-ins to Linjar.
According to the report, 6 injured from Malir 15 were brought to Jinnah Hospital while 9 police personnel were injured during the clashes.
The report said that one policeman and 6 policemen were injured in Nomesh while two were injured in Malir 15 area. The injured policemen are undergoing treatment and are in stable condition.
Sent to jail on the 19th.
Our correspondent adds that an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday sent 19 suspects arrested in connection with the Nomesh clash to jail. The investigating officer brought the accused before the ATC administrative judge and sought their 14-day remand for investigation.
The IO said that the suspects were involved in clashes with the policemen, four policemen were injured in firing and stone pelting. Dismissing the plea for physical remand, the learned judge remanded him to judicial remand, asking the IO to submit the charge sheet in due time.