Karachi [Pakistan], August 28 : The Karachi police on Sunday detained many members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who took part in a bike rally organised to express solidarity with imprisoned PTI chief Imran Khan, Pak local media reported.
Soldier Bazaar Station House Officer (SHO) Pir Shabbir Haider told Dawn that police had detained 20-25 people from the spot “just to disperse them to avoid traffic congestion in the busy area”.
Dawn is a Pakistani English-language newspaper that was launched in 1941
The PTI party in Karachi announced the rally on Saturday as part of a larger countrywide event.
“Solidarity rally with Imran Khan, who is currently facing unjust treatment in Attock jail. It is disheartening to see his fundamental rights being violated, with the jail manual not being implemented in his case. We invite all Karachites to stand together and raise [their] voice for Khan,” Khurram Sher Zaman, president of the PTI’s Karachi chapter, had posted on X (formerly Twitter) a day ago, according to Dawn.
Another post on his account stated the rally would begin from Nursery and would conclude at Quaid’s Mausoleum.
Imran was arrested on August 5 after an Islamabad trial court charged him guilty of “corrupt practices” in the Toshakhana case and sentenced him to three years in prison.
He was locked in Attock jail after his arrest, and his party has raised concerns regarding living conditions in the prison, Dawn reported.
Zaman stated that since last night and during the march, police had detained around 140 workers.
In a separate statement, Zaman said that Sindh police had baton-charged the rally participants, saying that “scaring and harassing” the participants of the rally was a “shameful act”.
“What happened to the right to assemble and participate in a peaceful rally?” he questioned on X, where he also posted a video of police baton-charging people purportedly participating in Sunday’s rally.
Meanwhile, in a different statement, Zaman said that Sindh police had baton-charged the rally participants, saying that “scaring and harassing” the participants of the rally was a “shameful act”.
“What message do Sindh police want to give by violating democratic norms? Sindh police need to mend their ways,” he added.
SHO Haider, however, refuted accusations that he baton-charged rally participants.
Although no policemen could be seen striking a rally attendee with a baton in the clip shown on Dawn, police officers could be seen wielding batons.
Photos from the occasion also clearly showed that cops had used force, Dawn reported.
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