14 held as police break up BYC rally in Karachi

KARACHI: Police on Friday picked up several workers of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) when they gathered near the Arts Council roundabout to stage a rally in protest over incidents of alleged torture and detention in Gwadar.

The BYC said in a statement that the police manhandled participants of the rally and detained around 50 workers, including women, when they tried to march on the Karachi Press Club.

It said that the rally was aimed at highlighting the police high-handedness in Gwadar.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza denied any torture or baton charge and said: “The district administration and local police had warned the organisers in advance not to violate the ban on holding any unlawful assembly in Red Zone.”

A police officer, who wished not to be named, told Dawn that over a dozen protesters were detained and taken to the Aram Bagh police station.

He said that the women protesters were released immediately. However, 14 male activists were arrested and being booked under the relevant sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, he added.

Rights activist and academic Nida Kirmani was also among the detained persons. She told the media that police released her and four other women after four to five hours of detention.

BYC leader Fauzia Baloch told the media that policemen also made their videos in custody and later released them.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2024