HRCP official claims activist detained by police outside Karachi Press Club – Pakistan
Police detained a female rights activist outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Thursday, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) member Qazi Khizar said.
The Karachi police also heightened security, with a considerable number of women personnel present at the site, a Dawn correspondent reported.
Roads leading to the KPC had been closed off briefly but were reopened within about an hour.
Dawn has reached out to the police for a comment.
Women rights group Aurat March was scheduled to hold a press conference at KPC at 3pm over the alleged “abduction” of two Baloch girls.
Senior journalist Dodal Chandio said in a post on Facebook that “police stopped the Aurat March women who were to hold a press conference” outside the KPC.
The police “misbehaved” with activist Sheema Kirmani, he added. In the video he shared, Kirmani could be heard saying, “You have no right to touch me. How dare you touch me?”
The video also showed policewomen grabbing another woman’s hand to detain her, as Kirmani told the cops that the woman was a reporter. As the tussle between them and the police continued, the woman said, “Let go of my hand. This is not a legal process.”
On November 21, the Karachi police had detained about half a dozen people to prevent them from moving towards the venue of a scheduled protest by the opposition alliance Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP) against the 27th Constitutional Amendment.
In March, Karachi police had arrested six people at Fawara Chowk as the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) attempted to reach the KPC for a protest against the arrests of its leadership.
This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources, such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.
