Karachi: One political activist lost his life and several others, including women, sustained injuries as police resorted to baton-charge and tear gas to disperse an opposition rally outside the Sindh Chief Minister House in downtown Karachi.
The Muttahida Quami Movement Pakistan (MQM) took out the rally against the controversial Sindh Local Government Act-2021 which, according to the opposition, has weakened the powers of Karachi’s mayor and the rest of the municipal system to run and develop the city. The MQM told reporters that party member Mohammad Aslam died at a hospital after being injured in the ensuing crush with police.
Video clips of the brutal police action outside the CM House went viral on social media, especially those showing highhandedness against an MQM’s member of Sindh Assembly, Sadaqat Hussain, who was arbitrarily arrested in an injured state from the site of the protest demonstration. Police personnel continued to manhandle Hussain and bundled him into a police mobile van.
Another MQM leader lost vision in one eye due to tear gas shell hitting him.
MQM leader, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, announced a day of protest on Thursday against police action.
He vowed to continue with the struggle of his party against the controversial local government law in a peaceful manner.
Another MQM leader, Amir Khan, demanded that the Sindh CM should resign after police actions just outside the official residence of the chief executive of Sindh.
Sindh Information and Labour Minister, Saeed Ghani, disputed MQM claims that police action had caused the death of the activist, saying cardiac arrest had been the cause of death.
He said the police had to take action as the last resort as MQM hadn’t stuck to its original plan of protest to take out a rally from Shar-e-Faisal to Karachi Press Club as the rally had been diverted towards the CM House.
He said the police before taking action had informed the MQM leadership that the rally shouldn’t move towards the CM House due to security reasons as international cricket players participating in the Pakistan Super League had been housed in the nearby large hotels.
Sindh CM, Murad Ali Shah, on Thursday telephoned MQM leader Syed Aminul Haque, to express sympathy on the violent incidents that happened outside the CM House the previous day.
Both the CM and MQM leader agreed to de-escalate the situation so that such violent incidents don’t happen in future.
