Preemptive action?: Police rounds up 100 JI activists in predawn raids

JI's Karachi chief Muhamamd Hussain Mehanti also detained ahead of their announced plans for a strike on Wednesday.

KARACHI: In wake of a strike call by the Jamaat-e-islami (JI), the police have detained the party's Karachi chief Muhamamd Hussain Mehanti and at least 100 more activists from different areas of the city past midnight.

The JI had announced a shutter down strike in Karachi to protest against the killing of party leader and former Liaquatabad Town nazim Dr Pervez Mehmood. The announcement received backing from transporters and different political parties including Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F), Sunni Tehreek, MQM Haqiqi (MQM-H), Awami Tehreek, Sindh United Party and the Lyari-based Karachi City Alliance.

JI spokesperson Zahid Askari told The Express Tribune that the police raided Mehanti’s residence located in Soldier Bazaar past midnight and detained him. He added that a raid was also carried out at the residence of the party’s Karachi vice president Nasrullah Khan Shajee, fortunately, he had already left his house.

“We have been receiving confirmation of raids from worried family members from all across the city,” Askari said, adding that around 100 activists have been detained so far from Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Jamshed Town, Landhi, Korangi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, North Nazimabad and Lyari.

Meanwhile, JI’s secretary general, Nasim Siddiqui condemned the arrests, terming the police action as an “act of political repression.”

“This will only fuel the anger among activists as the killers have been allowed to roam freely while the victims are being barred to exercise their democratic right of peaceful protest.”