On Sunday, protesters against the assassination of blasphemy suspect Dr. Shahnawaz Kunbhar and “extremism in Sindh” clashed with police outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC) for breaking Section 144.
Segment 144 is a lawful arrangement that engages locale organizations to restrict a gathering of at least four individuals in a space for a restricted period.
The protesters had gathered outside the press club as part of the “Sindh Rawadari March” to protest Dr. Shahnawaz’s “extrajudicial” death on September 19. Dr. Shahnawaz had been accused of sharing blasphemous posts on social media and was shot dead in mysterious circumstances during a gun battle with the police in Mirpurkhas. Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar acknowledged that the police had “staged the encounter” following an investigation into the incident.
Human rights defenders, trade unions, and feminist movements were among the progressive voices at the Sindh Rawadari March.
Today, television and web-based entertainment film of the dissent showed police performing rod charges on the demonstrators outside the KPC, including ladies.
