Shutter down or else: Case registered against ‘rabblerousing’ barelvi activists

FAISALABAD:

Kotwali police on Tuesday nominated Sunni Ittehad Council chief Hamid Raza Kazmi and several other members of barelvi political parties in an FIR on Tuesday. They are accused of forcing shopkeepers to shut down their business, beating up those who resisted and vandalising their property.

Muhammad Ramazan, spokesperson for the city police office, told The Express Tribune that they had not arrested anyone on the spot to prevent a breakdown of law and order in the city. He said the police had on occasions shelled protesters with tear gas but they had been allowed to assemble for their meeting.

He said no action had been taken against members of the SIC and other barelvi parties when they were preventing shopkeepers from doing business. However, he said, they would not investigate and crackdown on those responsible for the unrest.

Several barelvi political parties had rallied on the call of the SIC to protest against the arrest of clerics who had violated a ban on the use of mosque loudspeakers for purposes other than the five daily calls for prayers. The demonstrations disrupted activities in eight major markets of the city all day on Tuesday.

Baton wielding activists of the Sunni Ittehad Council, Sunni Tehreek, Minhajul Quran and Tanzeemul Masajid Pakistan roamed the markets and stopped shopkeepers from opening their shops for business.

Instances of resistance by some shopkeepers were reported but the demonstrators remained successful in ensuring that the shutters of most shops in the markets in the vicinity of the clock tower remained down all day.

Activists of the participating barelvi parties gathered at the Clock Tower Chowk where a public meeting was held.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2015.