JI leaders detained for planning ‘Gaza March’

Capital police launch crackdown on party workers preparing for protest outside US embassy

ISLAMABAD:

Several leaders and members of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) were apprehended on Saturday for planning to stage a protest demonstration outside the United States embassy in Islamabad on Sunday, demonstrating their support for the people of Palestine.

According to sources, the Islamabad administration took action against the party due to their refusal to relocate their planned protest away from the vicinity of the US embassy.

JI Amir Sirajul Haq had announced the Gaza March in front of the US Embassy in Islamabad on Sunday [today], claiming that the party would expose the Israeli brutality and the American role in the Israel-Gaza war while expressing solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians. However, the local administration refused to allow the march near the diplomatic enclave.

Also read:Ground battles rage in Gaza after Israel escalates bombing, cuts communications

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Sirajul Haq vowed to go ahead with the party’s plan of a peaceful protest in support of the Palestinian people.

He said it took the United Nations 21 days to convene a session while Gaza kept burning and the Israeli forces kept targeting hospitals and innocent civilians. “Despite the UN holding a session on the 21st day, Israel launched the ground offensive,” he lamented.

He claimed that the Islamabad police arrested the JI workers because the party leadership took the name of the US regarding the protest. “We are taking the name of the US because the US is backing Israel,” he said.

Earlier, in a display of brute force, the Islamabad police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) confiscated the stage, sound systems, and other equipment from the city's red zone, effectively preventing the preparations for the Gaza Solidarity March.

During this operation, JI leaders and members resisted the authorities, resulting in the arrest of several activists and leaders, including the party’s Islamabad Amir, Nasrullah Randhawa.

A spokesperson for the capital police informed the media that some individuals were detained for their involvement in blocking the Srinagar highway. He clarified that no political organisation would be allowed to disrupt roadways in Islamabad.

Read: Music shows cancelled to honour Gaza martyrs

The Islamabad Police also resorted to teargas shelling to disperse the JI activists, subsequently reopening the Srinagar Highway for regular traffic.

Additionally, he emphasised that due to the imposition of Section 144 in the capital, no rallies or processions would be permitted within Islamabad's limits.

Heart attack

During the crackdown against the JI leaders, businessman and JI leader Kashif Chaudhry suffered a heart attack and was shifted to a local hospital.

JI Deputy Amir, Mian Muhammad Aslam, while holding a press conference at the Aabpara Chowk against the police crackdown, said despite the demolition of JI's reception camp by the Islamabad police and the arrest of workers, the party will hold the million march today.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2023.