Protest aftermath: Police register cases against a dozen religious parties’ leaders

KARACHI:

The police have booked over a dozen leaders and workers of  various religious parties for violation of the Loud Speaker Act during the four-day protest at Numaish Chowrangi last week.

The sit-in was staged by Ittehad-e-Ahle Sunnat, an alliance of several parties representing the Barelvi school of thought, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (Noorani), Pakistan Sunni Tehreek, Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat, Sunni Alliance, Sunni Ittehad Council and others on Numaish Chowrangi.



The demonstration was linked to other sit-ins and protest in Islamabad's D-Chowk by religious groups on the chehlum of Mumtaz Qadri, an Elite Force policeman who was executed at Adiala Jail in February for assassinating former governor Salmaan Taseer in 2011.

The cases against the religious parties were registered at Soldier Bazaar police station. Both the cases were registered on behalf of the state, while the police put the sections of 147, 148, 149, 341, 427 and 153 that describes rioting and damages to the properties and violation of the Loud Speaker Act.

Soldier Bazaar SHO Irshad Soomro said that cases were filed against 14 leaders of various religious parties.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2016.