Police released Jamat-e-Islami Deputy Amir Hafiz Naeem after several hours of detention on Friday. Police on Friday surrounded JI’s Idara Noor-e-Haq and took Naeem and three others into custody hours before party’s scheduled protest against the K-Electric.
Earlier, following their leader’s arrest, JI workers blocked both the tracks of the Shahra-e-Faisal.
Police reached the spot and started tear gas shelling and aerial shelling to disperse protesters. More contingents of police were called in to control the situation, as protesters also resorted to pelting stones.
People were faced with great difficulty and used footpaths as alternative routes.
Police tried to negotiate with the party’s leadership to end the protest. The JI workers who were earlier protesting at the MA Jinnah road also tried to reach Shahra-e-Faisal.
At the time of Naeem’s arrest, a scuffle also broke out between the party workers and police.
JI Amir Siraj-ul Haq had protested the arrest of the party leader.
Following Naeem’s arrest, infuriated JI workers also presented themselves for arrest, leading to a scuffle with police. As a result, a heavy contingent of 70 policemen was called out.
JI chief Sirajul Haq protested the arrest of the party leader and workers, saying that the police could not stop the party from protest through such acts. “Sit-ins, gatherings and protests are the democratic right of the people,” he added.
A spokesperson for the JI said that police mobiles and water cannons had been put in place to block the routes leading to and from the JI institution. He said at the time of crackdown, Hafiz Naeem was also present at the building.
Earlier, Hafiz Naeem, while addressing a press conference, said that the issue was not related to the party’s protest at Shahrah-e-Faisal but of going against the K-Electric. He said the JI did not want to disrupt peace of the city, adding that they had only planned to protest against overcharging by the power utility.
The Jamaat-e-Islami was scheduled to protest against the recent hike in tariff by the K-Electric on Shahrah-e-Faisal.
