Police on Sunday briefly detained Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) MPA Muhammad Farooq and several party workers during a press conference outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office in Karachi.
JI workers and supporters were holding a protest outside the ECP office against alleged rigging in the 2024 general elections when police moved in to disperse them.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) South Mahzoor Ali said police only dispersed JI leaders and supporters from outside the ECP office.
“No JI workers were arrested or taken to the police station,” he clarified.
Earlier, the JI member of the Sindh Assembly told reporters: “This [ECP office] is not the house of a king. There will be a press conference.”
He had warned that the party would stage a protest if not allowed to hold the press conference outside the ECP office.
Addressing a press conference at the Idara Noor-e-Haq following the release of JI leaders and supporters, JI Karachi acting emir Muslim Pervaiz slammed the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government, saying that the “form 47 regime” was constantly violating the constitution.
“The Constitution allows us to express our opinion everywhere,” he added.
Pervaiz said the provincial government “violated the right to express” and took the JI leadership into custody during the press conference outside the ECP office. Speaking at the press conference, he stated that Pakistan’s Constitution allowed citizens to express their views peacefully and democratically anywhere.
He announced that a sit-in will be held outside the Sindh Assembly on February 14, as per the plan, “under all circumstances” against the “incompetence” of the Sindh government and its control over Karachi’s institutions.
Speaking on the occasion after his release, MPA Farooq said the Sindh government resorted to “fascist tactics” and arrested 19 JI workers and officials.
He said these arrests were made to prevent the February 14 sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly, reflecting the government’s panic and anti-democratic attitude.