THATTA, Aug 20: Four sitting and former lawmakers and elected representatives were among nearly 2,000 supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz booked on Tuesday at different police stations of Thatta district after they took out rallies and blocked highways and thoroughfares a day earlier in protest against alleged arrest of the chief polling agent of the Shirazi group candidate in the by-election for NA-237 Thatta-I, scheduled to be held on Thursday.

The protest was organised by the Shirazi group, which also enforced a shutdown across the district and threatened to block all highways and thoroughfares leading to Thatta if the polling agent, Mohammad Haneef Memon, was not set free immediately.

The police and the local administration have denied having arrested Mr Memon, though the group claims he was whisked away by a police contingent that forced him to disembark from his car and board a police mobile van before he was taken to an undisclosed destination. The charges framed against him could not be known immediately.

After a day-long blockade of the National Highway and other thoroughfares that continued into the night, the Thatta police booked Shirazi group chief MPA Syed Aijaz Ali Shah Shirazi, former MPAs Manzoor Shah Shirazi and Imtiaz Shah Shirazi, PML-N candidate for PS-237 candidate Syed Riaz Hussain Shah Shirazi, former district nazim Syed Shafqat Hussain Shah Shirazi, former UC nazim Mehtab Shah Shirazi, Fayyaz Hussain Shah Shirazi, Muneer Shah Shirazi, Ali Dost Missan and 42 other protesters.

A total of 16 FIRs were registered against nearly 2,000 protesters under Sections 506/2 (to cause death threats), 341 (wrongfully restraining any person and roads blockade), 186 (obstructing public servants in discharge of their duties) and 353 (assault or use of criminal activities to deter a public servant) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Thatta, Loni Kot, Mirpur Sakro, Gharo, Sujawal, Belo, Jherruck, Mirpur Bathoro, Keti Bundar, Dhabeji, Ghorabari, Keenjhar and others police stations on behalf of the state.

It is learnt that among the booked protesters, 1,200 were nominated by their names.

MNA Ayaz Shirazi and MPAs Syed Ameer Haider Shah and Shah Hussain Shah along with some other prominent figures of the area spoke to the media on Tuesday and criticised the provincial government for “victimising the Shirazi group and its supporters through the local administration and police ahead of the by-election”.

They claimed that the Monday protest against ‘arrest’ of Mr Memon was completely peaceful.

They apprehended violence and bloodshed on polling day as they said the opponent party had resorted to provocative actions and pre-poll rigging. They appealed to the Supreme Court chief justice, the Election Commission of Pakistan, the interior minister and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to take serious notice of the actions.

They also appealed for deployment of the army at all polling stations in the constituency on polling day to ensure a free, fair and transparent by-election. Meanwhile, situation in the entire district remained peaceful but tense on Tuesday.

Personnel of the Rangers and police were seen manning their posts at sensitive places and patrolling along the main thoroughfares to maintain law and order. At some places, the army was also spotted near the designated polling stations.