During a rally on Sunday night in Karachi, which was a part of nationwide protests against Israel’s killing of Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah and its ongoing bombing campaign in Lebanon, police used tear gas, and demonstrators threw stones.
Following Hezbollah’s confirmation on Saturday that its longtime leader had been killed by an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Pakistan, according to AFP.
Tel Aviv claimed to have carried out an airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut the previous day, dealing the group a fatal blow as it struggles to contain an intensifying barrage of Israeli attacks.
Many protestors, including women and children, turned out in Karachi to voice their outrage over the death of the Hezbollah leader and to wave signs criticizing Israel and its steadfast ally, the United States.
The Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen (MWM) religious-political organization was the one responsible for organizing the gathering in the city, according to a statement from Karachi Police.
The message stated that “[the rally] was going to start at PIDC intersection, move towards Mai Kolachi Road via the ICI Bridge, and culminate at the US Consulate.”
Numerous demonstrators reportedly started their rally at the Old Numaish roundabout and marched down the main MA Jinnah Road, according to the police. They were stopped from going any farther by police contingents stationed at the embassy when they descended from the Native Jetty Bridge.
Before long, the police had blocked off MT Khan Road and Mai Kolachi Road, which led to the consulate, with makeshift barriers and containers. Nonetheless, demonstrators attempted to remove the barriers that caused the altercations.
Social media footage displayed clouds of tear gas and demonstrators gathering close to the Bahria Complex on MT Khan Road, west of the consulate. They were chanting slogans and waving Hezbollah flags. Stones were also thrown by protesters against riot-clothed police officers.
After demonstrators threw stones at the police, several officers, including station house officer (SHO) Mouchko, were hurt, according to deputy inspector general (DIG) South Asad Raza, who spoke with Dawn.com.
The Crime Reporters’ Association, a group that supports journalists, claimed in a statement that some of the reporters who covered the event had been beaten and hurt by the demonstrators. It further stated that other private news broadcasters’ DSNG vans had also sustained damage.
According to DIG Raza, “a deal had been made with the demonstrators to hold a nonviolent protest, and the police had offered to mediate a meeting between some rally leaders and a representative from the US Consulate.”
He added, “But the demonstrators tried to go further and broke this understanding by damaging the containers placed close to the US Consulate.”
The DIG continued by saying that in addition to throwing stones at the police, some protesters also allegedly used aerial shooting, forcing the authorities to intervene.
The DIG claimed that “tear gas shelling was used by the police to disperse them.”
He acknowledged that there had been “some arrests,” but individuals who had been taken into custody had been freed following fruitful discussions with the protest organizers as their rallies came to a conclusion.
Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, the home minister for Sindh, became aware of the occurrence and asked DIG South for more information.
In a statement on X, the minister stated that “more police should be deployed to stop the rioting and stone pelting and that civilians, including journalists, should be rescued.”
“Every effort should be made to uphold the rule of law and safeguard citizens’ lives and property.”
Police reaction was “shameful.”
A statement explaining the goal of the demonstration and denouncing the police response as “shameful” was issued by the information department of MWM Sindh.
The statement said, “Religious parties organized a rally… to the American Embassy and also staged a sit-in on the martyrdom of Hezbollah chief… Nasrallah.”
According to the statement, Syed Baqir Zaidi, the leader of MWM, gave a speech at the event and said, “Hassan Nasrallah played a crucial role in making Hezbollah the strongest Palestinian resistance group.”
Zaidi was reported in the statement as stating, “The American embassies in different countries of the world are the bases of sedition and corruption.”
He insisted that the American ambassadors “be deported” and that the embassy “should be abolished from Pakistan,” according to the statement.
Shameful is the way the police shelled the gathering commemorating Nasrallah’s martyrdom. The administration of Sindh has made it apparent that it supports Israel and the United States of America over the Gaza victims.
Senator JI was detained during a demonstration in Islamabad.
There were protests in Islamabad as well; 4,000 or more people reportedly gathered in the capital to express their outrage over the death of Nasrallah, according to AFP.
Former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmed, his wife, and ten other protestors were taken into custody during one of the demonstrations outside the Islamabad Press Club.
The former senator said that the demonstrators had been attacked by the police while he was seated in the rear of a patrol car.
“They attacked us, women and children included,” he declared in a video that was uploaded on X.
He went on, saying, “Now they are arresting us,” and branding the administration as a “arm of Israel.”
Despite the Punjab government enforcing Section 144 in the province from September 28 to 29, protests persisted in the capital.
A legal provision known as Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure gives district administrations the authority to temporarily ban gatherings of four or more individuals in one location.
Israel’s “careless deed”
Pakistan denounced Israeli “adventurism” in the Middle East on Sunday, calling the assassination of Nasrallah in Lebanon a “reckless act” that marked a significant step forward.
Pakistan vehemently denounces Israel’s increasing adventurism in the Middle East. The Foreign Office issued a statement saying, “Its unrestrained attacks on civilian populations and disregard of international law have reached alarming levels.”
