The city’s roads will be free of protest sit-ins before to Maghrib prayers, according to Karachi Additional Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Javed Alam Odho, who stated on Monday that residents had “suffered enough” during the previous three days.
According to traffic police and organizers, the sit-ins, which have been going on for a week, have blocked major roads in protest of the killings in Parachinar. They are calling for steps, such as the restoration of a road in Parachinar that has been closed for 90 days, to guarantee access to necessary food and medications.
After negotiations with police and city officials failed a day ago, activists and leaders of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), a major religiopolitical party, declared they would continue their sit-ins throughout Karachi. The commuters who took alternate roads or routes—mostly using one track—were inconvenienced by the traffic delays caused by the ongoing road obstruction.
The main MA Jinnah Road near Numaish Chowrangi, Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Jauhar Mor, Gulistan-i-Jauhar Block-19-20, Safoora Chowrangi, Abul Hasan Ispahani Road, Five Star Chowrangi, University Road near Metro, Shamsuddin Azeemi Road in Surjani Town, Sharea Pakistan at Ancholi, Nawab Siddiqi Ali Khan Road in Nazimabad-1, Power House Chowrangi at Nagan, and Sharea Pakistan at Ayesha Manzil were all closed to traffic today, according to a statement from the Karachi Traffic Police spokesperson.
At a press conference held at Garden police headquarters, the city police chief addressed the situation and stated that the police had been instructed by the authorities to “clear” the highways of the continuous sit-ins.
The head of the city police said, “We are working to clear all roads by tonight.”
“We will clear the roads by Maghrib time,” the AIGP declared, adding that if anyone resisted, the police would act legally.
He continued, “We wanted to provide relief to the citizens who have suffered greatly over the past three days.”
Odho recalled that on Sunday night, he and the Karachi commissioner had discussions with the protest organizers’ high leadership, and that the latter had “agreed” to call off the demonstration.
He stated the protest sit-in on main Sharea Faisal near Star Gate was ended today following discussions last night.
But shortly after, the police chief emphasized in a news release that his remarks were meant to guarantee that sit-ins were conducted in a way that did not impede traffic flow, not to put an end to the protests.
Syed Ali Ahmer Zaidi, a spokeswoman for MWM, told Dawn.com that the central leadership had determined that the sit-ins would go on until the demands were met. Nonetheless, he stated that the party had made the decision to merely block one road track in protest, leaving the other track free for traffic.
He stated that while the sit-in on the National Highway at Malir-15 was still going on, as was the case in other areas of the city, the sit-in on main Sharea Faisal near Natha Khan Bridge was ended today.
MWM leader Mubashir Hassan said in a statement that the protests in Karachi would go on as long as those in Parachinar did.
“The Sindh government and police will be held accountable for the situation if they take any action against the protesters,” he stated. “The Sindh government ought to cease plotting to thwart the Parachinar sit-in protest.”
Separately, Allama Mohammed Ahmed Ludhianvi, the leader of the Sunni Ulema Council and the banned Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) group, threatened to stage sit-ins at 60 locations along Karachi’s roads if the present protests did not end within a day.
At a news conference in Islamabad, this announcement was made.
