Karachi police deploy tear gas and batons to appease JUI-F workers protesting ‘electoral rigging’.

KARACHI (Politico.pk) – Police used tear gas and batons to disperse JUI-F demonstrators in Karachi’s Shahrah-e-Faisal as they attempted to march to the Karachi Press Club, where the party had organized a sit-in protesting suspected “electoral rigging,” according to Dunya News.

According to reports, the protestors grew upset and hurled stones at the police when they were stopped from moving towards the press club, prompting the police to deploy batons and tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.

Rashid Soomro, the JUI-F’s provincial chairman, was leading the protest gathering.

Opposition groups, notably the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Grand Democratic Alliance, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have banded together to protest suspected vote manipulation in the 2024 general elections.

The parties held a demonstration outside the Sindh Assembly. During the event, police detained ten Qaumi Awami Tehreek members.

The oath-taking ceremony for newly elected Sindh Assembly members is scheduled on Saturday. The provincial government enacted Section 144, which forbids meetings, demonstrations, and protests.

The opposition parties disregarded Section 144 and protested the suspected rigging ahead of the event.

To disperse the demonstration, police baton-charged political workers outside the Sindh Assembly and used water cannons and prisoner vans. The interim governor of Sindh has issued guidelines calling for stern judicial action against individuals who resort to violence and disturbance.

Police stopped JUI-F General Secretary Arshad Mehmood Soomro and party workers at Karachi’s Toll Plaza. Soomro sought the right to peaceful protests and sit-ins.

The District East police closed Shahrah-e-Faisal and redirected traffic to Kaala Pull. The Shahrah-e-Faisal Nursery was tightly guarded by police, causing a major traffic gridlock and barrier.

Highways were intentionally blocked with containers to avoid any security risks and incidents.