JI city chief, others booked for blocking Sharae Faisal
JI Karachi Ameer Munim Zafar Khan. Photo: File
Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Ameer Munim Zafar and three other party leaders have been nominated in an FIR for blocking Sharae Faisal.
It may be recalled that on Saturday, Karachi Traffic Police had issued an advisory regarding a political party's march, announcing the closure of Shahrae-Faisal and outlining alternative routes for commuters.
The FIR was registered at Tipu Sultan Police Station on the complaint of SHO Sub-Inspector Azhar Khan. In his statement, the complainant said that on February 1, while on routine patrol and crime prevention duty with other police personnel in a government vehicle, he reached the Sharae Faisal track leading towards Saddar at around 4pm.
He stated that a political party's workers, numbering between 800 and 1,000, including men and women, were present at the site under the leadership of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Ameer Munim Zafar, Manzar Alam, Rashid and Saleem, along with other unidentified persons.
The workers, some on foot and others in vehicles, allegedly blocked the main Shahrae Faisal, stopping traffic and ambulances, causing severe disruption to public movement and hardship for commuters and patients.
The FIR further states that the workers continued chanting slogans and, without prior permission from the administration, staged a protest by blocking the road. Some participants allegedly damaged public property using sharp tools and erected tents and flags on the road, keeping it blocked until around 7:30pm.
Following the incident, police registered the case and handed over further investigation to the in-charge investigation officer of Tipu Sultan police.
Opposition Leader of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) , also happened to be deputy chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi, Saifuddin Advocate, has strongly condemned the registration of an FIR against JI's leadership and raids on the homes of elected City Council members, belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, terming these actions cowardly measures by the Pakistan Peoples Party's provincial government.