By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Police in Karachi arrested 45 people on Sunday during a rally celebrating Sindh Culture Day after participants allegedly pelted stones at law enforcement personnel, prompting a response that included baton charges and tear gas shelling, a senior police official said.
The clashes witnessed on Share-a-Faisal, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, as crowds gathered for the annual event, which draws thousands in traditional attire to honor Sindhi heritage with music and dance.
“We detained 45 people on Share-a-Faisal,” Syed Asad Raza, South Deputy Inspector General of Police, told reporters. “The South SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police) is at the scene, and the situation is under control.”
The arrests came amid heightened security measures, with the city’s Red Zone, an area housing sensitive government installations, closed off to prevent unauthorised access. Alternative traffic routes were provided for citizens and commuters, Raza said.
He said law enforcers had directed rally participants to follow a designated path via the Lines Area route toward Saddar and ultimately to the venue at the Karachi Press Club. But the group insisted on proceeding along the main Share-a-Faisal from Jinnah Bridge. “They allegedly pelted stones on the police when they were stopped, resulting in injuries to five policemen,” he said, adding that it prompted the police to resort to tear gas shelling to disperse them.
Asked why officers had blocked the road at the Finance and Trade Centre flyover, known as FTC, Raza cited an advisory issued in anticipation of the cultural day. Multiple rallies and processions were expected to converge at the FTC before heading toward the KPC via Share-a-Faisal. “In view of certain past untoward incidents, the law enforcers were asked to ensure that no participant was allowed to move beyond FTC under any circumstances, as the area ahead leads into the Red Zone, which contains sensitive installations,” he said. “Thus, the police and rangers were deployed at the FTC bridge to enforce the diversion and prevent any unauthorised movement.”
Sindh Culture Day, observed annually, transforms streets into vibrant spectacles of regional pride. Jubilant crowds don traditional dresses, Sindhi caps and Ajraks, the province’s iconic patterned shawls, while dancing to folk music blared from vehicle-mounted sound systems throughout the day. But the festivities have occasionally been marred by tensions.
Raza recalled that in 2023, during Sindh Cultural Day celebrations, there were violent confrontations between law enforcers and protesters in which a first information report was also registered. Similarly, last year, he said, a police van was damaged, and police personnel were manhandled, while some of the protestors managed to cross into the Red Zone and reached the KPC via Jinnah Bridge.
“Around 10-12 rallies came from different parts of the metropolis and reached the Fawara Chowk and KPC with around 17,000 to 18,000 participants,” he said. Officials did not immediately provide details on the charges against those arrested or the condition of the injured officers. The incident underscores the challenges of managing large public gatherings in a city where security concerns often intersect with cultural expressions.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
