Karachi’s Additional Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Javed Alam Odho did not mean to end protest sit-ins for Parachinar in the city, the police spokesperson clarified on Monday.
“Linking the news to the termination of protests is unfounded and a misunderstanding,” the spokespersons said in a statement while reacting to the reports. He clarified that the police chief’s order to end the sit-ins has been “misrepresented” on social media.
The sit-ins, which have persisted for a week, have blocked major thoroughfares in response to the recent killings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Parachinar. Protesters have demanded the reopening of a road in the Kurram district city that has been closed for 90 days, affecting access to essential food and medicines, as reported by traffic police and organizers.
Activists and leaders from the mainstream religio-political party Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM) stated that they would continue their sit-ins across Karachi after failed negotiations with police and city officials a day prior.
According to a statement from the Karachi Traffic Police spokesperson, sit-ins are still taking place at 13 locations throughout the city. Key areas affected include MA Jinnah Road near Numaish Chowrangi, Kamran Chowrangi in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Jauhar Mor, Block 19-20 in Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Safoora Chowrangi, Abul Hasan Ispahani Road, Five Star Chowrangi, University Road near Metro, Shamsuddin Azeemi Road in Surjani Town, Sharea Pakistan at Ancholi, Nawab Siddiqi Ali Khan Road in Nazimabad-1, Power House Chowrangi at Nagan, and Sharea Pakistan at Ayesha Manzil. Traffic has been redirected through alternative routes due to these closures.
“The police chief’s intent was not to eliminate the sit-ins but to manage them in a manner that does not disrupt traffic flow,” it said.
