Sindh Rawadari March, Jayalon Ki Phabtiyan Aur Police Tashadud

My original intention was to share the “tale of misery” of the 15-hour torturous journey I endured the day before yesterday and advise you to travel by choice, not based on suggestions. However, the news from Sunday about the inhumane behavior, violence, and baton charges by the police against participants in the Sindh Tolerance March in Karachi, including tearing men’s clothes and dragging Romaisa Jami Chandio on the street, caught my attention.

In the meantime, the messages, news, and videos sent via WhatsApp by my respected Sindhi friend, Professor Aziz Solangi, helped me understand the situation better. Professor Aziz Solangi is a progressive intellectual from Sindh, and his words, opinions, and information about events hold more credibility for me than any mainstream media.

As I was still going through the available images, videos, and news about the unfortunate incident, I came across two Facebook posts by my passionate PPP-supporting friend Rana Sharafat Ali Nasir, who is known as a one-man army on social media in Punjab.

In one of his Facebook posts, Rana Sharafat mentioned that the officers involved in the violence against the participants of the Sindh Tolerance March on Sunday, October 13, had been suspended, sharing a copy of the suspension notification. However, in his second post, he noted, “All those who have a habit of filing petitions in courts against the Sindh government’s control over the police are convinced that yesterday’s violence was ordered by Syed Murad Ali Shah.”

I commented on my lawyer friend’s post, saying, “Sir, do defend, but in light of ground realities. If Murad Ali Shah doesn’t control the police, is he just the Chief Minister for making money?”

The violence, tearing of clothes, and dragging of renowned Sindhi intellectual Jami Chandio’s daughter by male police officers during the Sindh Tolerance March on Sunday were condemned on social media platform “X” by Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, the daughter of the late Benazir Bhutto.

Asifa Bhutto Zardari, another daughter of Benazir Bhutto and a member of the National Assembly from Nawabshah, also assured on social media that action would be taken against the responsible police officers for the inappropriate behavior and violence.

The Sindh Tolerance March on Sunday, October 13, was held in memory of Dr. Shahnawaz Shaheed, who was killed in a fake police encounter in Umerkot, Sindh, a few days ago, and against the deliberate increase in religious extremism in the province. The march had been announced about a week or ten days prior.

On Friday, October 11, a sectarian extremist organization, TLP, announced a rally in response to the Sindh Tolerance March. TLP is the same organization whose prominent figures from Mirpur Khas and Umerkot, including the extremist cleric Pir Umar Jan Sarhandi, were at the forefront in accusing Dr. Shahnawaz of blasphemy and inciting people to kill him.

Sarhandi Pir is currently out on interim bail in the murder case of Dr. Shahnawaz and is using his powerful henchmen to threaten the family of the deceased doctor and prominent figures in Sindh who are raising their voices against the fake encounter. The treatment of the participants of the Sindh Tolerance March by the Sindh police was not only inappropriate but shameful and condemnable.

Why and how can one defend a wrongful act?

Obviously, it is not logically or intellectually possible. The statements made by the Sindh Home Minister on Sunday, the day of the violence, are condemnable. The peaceful citizens of the Tolerance March did not attack the police; it was the police who attacked these peaceful people.

If Section 144 was in effect in Karachi, then when the Jamaat-e-Islami and other parties violated it a few days ago, was the Sindh government asleep or was the number of those violating it more than the police?

Could the organizers of the Tolerance March not have been engaged in dialogue, explaining the reasons behind the imposition of Section 144 in Karachi, and requested to postpone the protest for a few days since a case had already been registered with the consent of the deceased’s family regarding Dr. Shahnawaz’s murder? The way the Sindhi intellectuals and women were treated by the police is unforgivable. Party loyalists making excuses and jesters should remember that their party stands for the constitution, law, democracy, and people.

The shameful incident took place within the jurisdiction of the PPP-led Sindh government. It is not a good idea to keep lamenting the Sindh government’s lack of control over everything. None of the lawyers who frequently go to court against appointments and transfers were part of the Tolerance March.

Why would they be? Those who file petitions in court at the station commander’s behest and the judges who make favorable decisions have always been denounced by the people of Sindh.

The fundamental question is: what did the Karachi administration do after the TLP’s announcement of a counter-rally against the Sindh Tolerance March? And why did the Sindh government ignore the matter? What should have happened is that the big and small leaders of the extremist group should have been dealt with according to the law, and prevented from carrying out their plan to provoke a clash between different segments of society.

But that didn’t happen. Instead, the extremist group members attacked the police, set a police vehicle on fire, and an armed person among them fired shots, killing one person and injuring several others. Multiple police officers were injured due to the extremist group’s violence against the police.

On the same day, the peaceful participants of the Tolerance March were subjected to police violence, while the police were assaulted by members of a sectarian group. Meanwhile, some PPP loyalists and sympathizers on social media vented their anger on the Tolerance March participants. These criticisms come from the supporters of a party whose leader was martyred during a political struggle against state terrorism.

On Monday, the Sindh Home Minister announced an investigation into the police violence.

According to the writer’s information, Asifa Bhutto Zardari, a member of the National Assembly and daughter of Benazir Bhutto, expressed her severe displeasure over the phone with her brother Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Sindh Chief Minister, and the Sindh Home Minister. Sources say that Asifa Bhutto Zardari stated, “The violence against women participating in the Sindh Tolerance March in Karachi, and the act of dragging them on the street by male police officers, is extremely shameful and goes against my martyred mother’s values and struggle.”

Once again, I would like to emphasize that if the Sindh government is truly so powerless, then the PPP should give up its provincial government. Why does it allow a new stain on its reputation every day? It was said in the past that the cases registered against (now former) MNA Ali Wazir in Karachi were directly ordered by the ISI. Let’s accept that. But who filed the case against the Sindh Tolerance March participants on Sunday?

Was it an agency, the Sindh government, the police itself, or some angel?