Protest against police for booking people under terror charges

A large number of people on Friday protested against Kallar Syedan police after the latter booked participants over an Independence Day rally under terror charges.

On August 14, several people including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers had taken out the rally but the police said that most of its participants were workers of a banned outfit.

The protesters blocked the main highway to Kashmir and chanted slogans and demanded Kallar Syedan Station House Officer (SHO) Qaiser Satti.

The protestors said that they had organised the rally from Kallar Syedan to Sarsoba Shah on August 14, but a heavy contingent of police reached the spot and rounded up several participants of the rally, and transported them to the police station.

They said that the police registered a case against them on terror charges on a complaint of constable Khurram Waseem. The protesters said that like other Pakistanis, they brought out the rally on Independence Day, but the local police registered a case of terrorism against them.

The protesters blocked the main highway leading to Kashmir for two hours and protested against the police.

On the other hand, the police said that they had received a tip-off that on August 14, workers of the banned outfit were holding a rally from Chau Khalsa to Sarsoba Shah. The police said that the case has been registered against workers of the banned organisation.

Kallar Syedan SHO said that the case against them could only be quashed after they submitted an affidavit proclaiming they had nothing to do with the banned organisation.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2021.