Instead of fixing it, government arrests anti-trash campaigner

Alamgir Khan arrested enroute to CM House, planned to create garbage pile

KARACHI: Instead of cleaning up the mounting garbage piles across the city, the government apprehended the man who was campaigning vehemently against them.

Alamgir Khan, who started the #FixIt campaign in January this year by spray painting the provincial chief's face next to open manholes and garbage piles, was arrested on Thursday by the Civil Lines police.

Khan was on his way to CM House to create a garbage dump outside the premises when he was apprehended along with the driver of the tractor he was on.



The police tried to stop the tractor when it entered the red security zone. It led to a scuffle after which Khan was arrested. An FIR under Pakistan Penal Code section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) has been lodged against him at Civil Lines police station.

SHO Waqar Tanoli was only willing to confirm the registration of the FIR when The Express Tribune approached him. Khan is in police custody and will be presented in court tomorrow, he said.

Earlier on Thursday, Khan had uploaded a video on social media announcing his plans to create a garbage dump outside CM House. He wanted the government and the people to realise their responsibility towards keeping the city clean.

Khan, who belongs to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had clarified that his #FixIt campaign was apolitical. However, some PTI workers and leaders gathered at the police station to support him following the arrest.

PTI's Imran Ismail told The Express Tribune that Khan's campaign was not endorsed by the party but, since he is an old member, they will make efforts to get him released.

He said that the charges against Khan are bailable offences but, he claimed, the police have instructions from CM House to keep him in custody. A team of PTI lawyers will take up the issue tomorrow when the police present him in court, he added.



Khan's FIR was registered at Civil Lines but he was taken to Artillery Maidan police station, shared Ismail. "When I reached Artillery thana [police station], the police told me that they have taken him to Darakhshan police station, where I met him." However, Darakhshan's duty officer Ghulam Yasin denied that Khan was in their custody.

As the news of Khan's arrest was broadcast, his supporters took to social media. By Thursday evening, #ReleaseAlamgirKhan was the top trend in Pakistan. Some supporters also reached the police station, where they blocked the road and demanded his release.

A #FixIt volunteer, Frederic Khan, said his team will not sit still until Khan is released. "How can you arrest a person who feels such pain for the city," he said.

Meanwhile, CM’s special assistant Waqar Mehdi defended the police action as Khan was breaking the law. "The FIR mentions exactly what happened and nothing else has been added to it to suggest that this is political victimisation," he said. Mehdi insisted that the chief minister is interested in resolving the issues of the city and has been instrumental in taking steps to solve them.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2016.