One person dead while several injured during MQM-P protest in Karachi

KARACHI: One person lost his life, while several members of the MQM-P, including women, were left injured after Karachi police baton-charged and tear-gassed them during a protest at the city’s Shahrah-e-Faisal.

MQM-P’s parliamentarian leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui confirmed that one of the party workers — identified as Aslam — succumbed to his injuries. He confirmed that the funeral prayers of Aslam would be held in Karachi today.

Siddiqui further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed have taken notice of the incident, while federal ministers are looking into the matter as well.

Karachi police on Wednesday resorted to tear gas shelling and baton-charge in an effort to disperse Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) protesters staging a sit-in outside the Sindh Chief Minister House against the recently passed local government law, witnesses and officials said.

The protesters, including lawmakers, women and children, set out from FTC Roundabout on Sharea Faisal and eventually reached the CM House where they staged a sit-in.

South Zone DIG Sharjeel Kharal said that the party leadership had violated an “agreement” between the two that the protest would be restricted to the Karachi Press Club (KPC).

They also blocked main Sharea Faisal at FTC for a considerable period of time causing a traffic jam. When they reached near Metropole hotel on Club Road, the MQM-P protestors allegedly attacked police with stones after officials tried to prevent them from holding a rally in the Red Zone,” he said.

The official said that the protesters moved towards the chief minister’s house in groups and staged a sit-in for an hour-and-a-half. The DIG said that he as well as the Karachi commissioner, Deputy commissioner South and SSP South held talks with the MQM-P leadership in an effort to get them to disperse but they refused to do so.

“Finally, police moved to clear the road as there were apprehensions of a security breach at the chief minister’s secretariat,” he said. “Police resorted to tear gas shelling and detained eight persons,” Kharal added.

The officer said that one MPA, identified as Sadaqat Hussain, was also among the detained persons as he allegedly attacked police and subsequently suffered “minor” injuries on the head. He was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for treatment.

The officer claimed that the MQM-P leadership did not listen, which prompted police to take action in the form of tear gas shelling and baton-charge.