Jamaat-e-Islami to stage sit-in against 'illegal' detentions of workers

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Wednesday announced to stage protest sit-in against the 'illegal' detention of its workers and other civilians in front of police head office on Friday, January 13. "The sit-in is aimed at exposing the anti-democratic forces and condemning the 'illegal' detention of JI workers and other civilians by the intelligence agencies," Chief of JI Karachi chapter Muhammad Hussain Mahenti told a press conference at Idarae Noor-e-Haque.
He said JI Secretary General Liaquat Baloch would lead the protest and vowed the agitation would continue until the safe return of the missing persons or their production in the courts. Parents of the missing JI activists also spoke about their plights and agonies.
He alleged the intelligence agencies were behind the abduction of JI workers and other citizens, saying the agencies were making illegal detentions at gunpoint. He said holding protests against the illegal actions of national institutions were the fundamental right of citizens.
He asserted the JI workers would hold the protest at Red-Zone area and warned that any blockade or move to disallow the sit-in would be resisted. "The protestors will not care about any tactics to block the protest routes to the so-called Red Zone," he added. Mahenti alleged the intelligence agencies had abducted scores of citizens on the pretext of investigation and were holding them in illegal custody for too long without presenting them in any court of law. He also criticised the government for it failure to pay attention to the miseries of missing persons' families in the country and to stop the 'unconstitutional' search operations of intelligence agencies. "The situation is very critical which needs an immediate attention of the government," he added.