KARACHI: A number of protesters, mostly relatives of ‘missing’ Shia persons, held a protest demonstration and staged a sit-in in front of the Governor House on Sunday evening, which ended on the federal government’s intervention late in the night.

The sit-in continued for several hours before federal minister for ports and shipping Ali Haider Zaidi met representatives of the Joint Action Committee for Shia Missing Persons for the acceptance of their demands.

The sit-in ended after successful talks between the federal minister and the protesters, according to the organisers and officials.

Earlier, police prevented protesters, including women and children, from staging a sit-in in front of the Governor House against enforced disappearances, witnesses and officials said. Contingents of police were already deployed on Aiwan-i-Sadar Road where temporary barriers were also erected.

Organisers allege police manhandled people who tried to reach Governor House

The Joint Action Committee for Shia Missing Persons had announced their protest plan over the ‘missing’ persons. As part of their protest, women and children gathered at Fawara Chowk near Zainab Market. As they tried to go to the Governor House, the police prevented them from moving further. As a result, the protesters staged a sit-in at Fawara Chowk and offered prayers there. However, some of the protesters, mostly women and children, reached the main gate of the Governor House where they staged a sit-in.

The media coordinator of the committee alleged that the police manhandled the protesters and pointed guns at them. He, however, said no one was detained.

The police denied manhandling the protesters. Two senior officers, who wished not to be named, said that children and women were in the rally, therefore, the police avoided taking any action against them but admitted that the police tried to prevent them from moving further. Instead, the police advised them to submit their demands and select a few people whose meeting could be arranged with officials at the Governor House. Besides, a protocol officer of the Governor House also came out to meet them but the organisers of the rally allegedly refused to meet them. The protesters demanded that the authorities concerned had approached federal minister Ali Haider Zaidi, who arrived there at night, met them and heard their demands.

They dispersed peacefully after getting assurances for the acceptance of their demands, confirmed the MWM spokesperson.

Later talking to the media, Ali Zaidi recalled that a committee was set up when relatives of ‘missing’ persons had held a protest outside the president’s home in Karachi in the recent past. Due to efforts of the said body, 70 of the 149 ‘missing’ Shia persons were released. He regretted that no further meetings of the committee took place because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He promised that meetings of the body would resume on Thursday. He said the governor was abroad and when he returned, he would ask him to hold meetings of the committee at the Governor House. Mr Zaidi said the prime minister had directed the relevant authorities to produce ‘missing’ persons before court.

MWM reaction

The Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen in a statement at night condemned the police action against family members of “missing” persons and alleged that the police subjected the protesters, including women, to torture when they tried to move toward the Governor House.

“Enforced disappeared persons are patriotic citizens and if they have committed any crime, they should be presented before courts,” the statement said. “A peaceful protest is a constitutional and legal right. The governor is representative of the federation and responsible for the solution of the people’s problems.”

MWM leader Allama Mubashir Hasan announced that they would continue their protest till a “responsible” personality of the federal government held talks with them.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2020