• Prisoners’ van, water tanker among several vehicles torched
• Ali Zaidi, over 20 PTI leaders and workers held
• Internet cut plunges city into information darkness
• Protests on multiple spots across Karachi
• Matric exams to be conducted as per schedule today

KARACHI: Within a few hours after the arrest of PTI chairman Imran Khan in Islamabad, violent protests erupted in Karachi and parts of Sindh as suspension of internet, cable TV and mobile phone services stoked panic, confusion and fear among citizens on Tuesday.

In Karachi, the PTI staged protest demonstrations near Hasan Square, Sohrab Goth and Defence Mor areas. However, the PTI leadership asked workers to reach Insaf House, the party headquarters, on Sharea Faisal which later became a battlefield.

A sense of uneasy calm prevailed across the metropolis. The daily life came to a complete halt near the neighbourhoods along the Sharea Faisal.

Traffic turned thin on city roads as the news of Imran Khan’s arrest spread like a wildfire. The suspension of internet services in many areas further deepened a sense of fear and confusion in residents. Those who had access to the internet through different means were unable to access social media platforms which faced “temporary suspension by the federal authorities”.

Residents of many areas complained suspension of television cable services in their areas as some were facing seizure of cellular service as well.

Unexplained shutdown by authorities and speculations from different circles fuelled anxiety and confusion among Karachiites which were left with little option to find out happenings of the day.

While the British Council cancelled its O and A level exams scheduled for Wednesday (today), the matric boards across the province decided to take annual Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams as per schedule.

The battleground

Sharea Faisal became the flashpoint where a large number of PTI workers and supporters took over the thoroughfare to vent their anger on the arrest of their leader in Islamabad.

On the key thoroughfare, the protesters met with heavy contingents of police and personnel of law enforcement agencies which resorted to baton charge and intense teargas shelling to disperse the protesters.

The authorities also took into custody senior PTI leaders in the city which sparked furthers protests.

Arson attacks and stone pelting left a dozen of vehicles damaged while two checkposts each of Karachi police and Pakistan Rangers were burnt and a number of public and private properties were damaged.

It all began in the second half of day when the local party leadership using social media platforms and other communication modes summoned party workers and supporters to reach the PTI headquarters called Insaf House on Sharea Faisal near the Nursery bus stop.

Within no time, a large number of PTI workers, including women, were found on main Sharea Faisal.

The police resorted to tear gas shelling when the protest turned violent.

Several roads were blocked in other parts of the metropolis, triggering traffic problems, according to officials and witnesses.

However, the party claimed it was a peaceful protest, but the police ‘provoked’ the calm activists.

“We were peaceful and calm,” said PTI MPA and deputy information secretary of Sindh chapter Shahzad Qureshi.

“We only stopped traffic for a while to register the protest. After that we only held a march along the road without disturbing the traffic but from nowhere the police resorted to teargas shelling leaving scores of our workers injured and unconscious. It’s nothing but fascism.”

But before the police moved in, a prison van, a water tanker and suction and jetting machine of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) and some 10 motorbikes parked along the service lane near Baloch Colony and most probably owned by employees of different companies having offices in the building off the road were set on fire.

In the same area, two unmanned check posts of Karachi police and Pakistan Rangers, Sindh met the same fate.

The shelling was so intense from the police that it forced hundreds of people working in the buildings along the main Sharea Faisal to evacuate their workplaces in panic leaving a scene of chaos and mess.

There was no word from the police about the number of injured due to shelling. The PTI claimed over 50 workers were injured and sent to hospitals for first aid and treatment.

Police on the other hand justified the action blaming the “conduct of PTI leaders and workers” as reason behind the use of force.

“Several PTI workers attempted to go into the Red Zone to protest at sensitive installations near FTC Flyover, when contingents of police prevented them from going further. The workers attacked the police with stones that left three of our officers injured,” South-SSP Syed Asad Raza told Dawn.

In the meantime, a bus of the People’s Bus Service was intercepted near Laal Khothi and ransacked after the staff and passengers were asked to get off the bus.

Trees, billboards, plants and greenbelt were also damaged in the turmoil.

Amid all this, the police picked and detained PTI workers from isolated spots of the protest. The authorities confirmed arrest of more than 20 PTI workers from Sharea Faisal.

“We have arrested 23 PTI workers for being active in violence,” said SSP Raza.

The claim was rejected by the party saying over a hundred workers were missing and they all were believed to be picked up by police.

The face-off between the two sides were on when the news of arrest of key PTI leaders reached the protesters through different social media platforms before internet services were suspended minutes before the sunset.

Although the authorities stayed tight-lipped about the arrest of senior PTI leaders, a police source confirmed that former federal minister and Sindh chapter president of the party Ali Zaidi was “taken away by the law-enforcement agency” near Kala Pul in Defence when he was moving to join the Shahra e Faisal protest.

The detention of Mr Ali Zaidi followed the arrest of PTI MPA Adeel Ahmed. The party spokesman claimed that Mr. Ahmed was arrested in Korangi when he was leading a convoy to join the protest on Sharea Faisal.

However, their advancement came to a stop near FTC Bridge.

With reinforcements of police and deployment of heavy contingents of law-enforcers, the police resorted to fresh baton charge and teargas shelling forcing the marchers to retreat.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2023