KARACHI, 28 May — Police in the port city of Karachi arrested hundreds of activists of a hard-line group before a planned protest over the murder of its leader, authorities said yesterday.
“We arrested 500 activists of Sunni Tehrik on Saturday from all over Sindh to maintain law and order in the province,” provincial Home Secretary Mukhtar Ahmed told a news conference.
He said 300 supporters of Sunni Tehrik were detained in Karachi and another 200 in other parts of Sindh.
Sunni Tehrik had called for a country-wide strike over what it said was the failure of police to arrest the killers of their leader Saleem Qadri and others. All were shot dead on May 18.
The party had called for strike today. Qadri and five others were killed in Karachi by unknown assailants prompting widespread protests and riots in the port city. The party had threatened agitation if the assassins were not arrested. A leader of the Tehrik, Abbas Qadri, yesterday called on the people not to venture out of their houses today. He asked people to store ration for the day as there will be a “curfew-like situation in the city.”
“People are requested to keep their shops, offices, transport and other business closed on May 28 and remain in their homes from 6 a.m. (0100 GMT),” Sunni Tehrik said in a statement. “Those who do not pay heed to our call will themselves be responsible for any damage.” Qadri’s party had given a 10-day ultimatum to the government to bring the culprits to book, but yesterday decided to push through their agitation plan. Abbas said the protest would be peaceful. The home secretary, meanwhile, said the provincial government had arrested 20 people on suspicion of involvement in Qadri’s murder and investigations were continuing.
Ahmed said paramilitary and extra police forces had been called from other parts of the country to Karachi, a stronghold of the Sunni Tehrik, to prevent any violence.
Security was tight yesterday as police and paramilitary forces patrolled Sunni Tehrik strongholds and other commercial centers in Karachi.
