Sunni Ittehad Rally: Booted from Minar-i-Pakistan

Activists were arrested after they resisted policemen who stopped them for making the rally arrangements.

LAHORE: Over a dozen Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) activists were arrested on Saturday after they resisted policemen who tried to stop them from making arrangements for a public meeting around Minar-i-Pakistan.

SIC activists had been arriving at the venue and making preparations for their Istehkam-i-Pakistan conference since Saturday morning. At night, a police team led by a deputy superintendent arrived at the scene and began dismantling the seats and sound system.

Over a dozen workers were arrested for resisting. A city government official said that SIC leaders had never been given permission to hold the conference at Minar-i-Pakistan but been repeatedly offered Ateeq Stadium, but they had refused. This was for security reasons, he said, since the Minar was an open venue while Ateeq Stadium was closed from three sides at least. The official said MQM had not been allowed to hold their April 10 public meeting at Minar-i-Pakistan for the same reason.

However, SIC chief Sahibzada Fazle Karim accused the government of treachery, saying they had tried to change the venue for the conference at the last minute. He vowed that the rally would go ahead.

He said the SIC would unite the Ahle Sunnat and would field candidates in the next general elections.



Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2011.