Sindh detains BYC’s Sammi, 4 others for a month under MPO

  • Lawyer says he would be challenging detention under MPO in Sindh High Court tomorrow (Wednesday)

KARACHI: The Sindh government on Tuesday detained Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) leader Sammi Deen Baloch along with four others for 30 days under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) following their arrest a day earlier.

The Karachi’s Artillery Maidan police booked Sammi and five other detained activists under Section 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) for violating Section 144.

On Monday, the Karachi police detained Sammi and several other BYC leaders for violating Section 144 and broke up the BYC’s protest against the recent arrests of its leadership and a crackdown on its Quetta sit-in.

The BYC had announced a protest at Karachi Press Club (KPC) against the “illegal detention” of its key leaders, including Dr Mahrang Baloch who was arrested on Saturday along with 16 other activists from their protest camp in Quetta, a day after claiming that three protesters had died due to police action.

According to the Sindh Home Department’s order, the Sindh inspector general of police (IGP) had recommended a 30-day detention period for BYC’s Sammi Deen Baloch, Razzak Ali, Abdul Wahab Baloch, Shehdad and Sultan.

The order stated that the five were “instigating the public to block roads and organise sit-ins in Karachi, which may disturb peace and tranquility and can create serious law and order problems”.

It went on to say that the presence of the five people “is likely to pose grave threat to the public safety and can cause breach of peace and tranquility.”

The order further said that the Sindh government “has sufficient reasons to believe that the five people “[should] be arrested and detained for a period of 30 days from the date of arrest”.

Their custody shall be placed under the Central Prison Karachi senior superintendent, the order read.

MPO to be challenged tomorrow: lawyer

Following the Sindh govt’s MPO order, Sammi’s lawyer Jibran Nasir confirmed that she had been confined at Central Jail for 30 days under the MPO.

“The learned judicial magistrate discharged all the five accused in the FIR registered yesterday,” Jibran said in a post on X.

“As soon as the accused were discharged and ordered to be released the police started waving the MPO order. While Sammi surrendered and willfully gave her arrest, the whereabouts of four others Lala Wahab, Raziq, Sultan and Shahdad are unknown,” he said.

Jibran added that he would be challenging the MPO in the Sindh High Court tomorrow.

Other protesters detained on Monday were identified as Abdul Wahab, Mustafa Ali, Shahzad Rab, Hamza Iftikhar and Sultan Hamal.

The FIR registered on the complaint of a policeman stated that about 35-40 men and women arrived at Fawara Chowk and attempted to enter the Red Zone. The complainant said the police tried to prevent them, but the protesters allegedly entered the sensitive area forcibly.

The police took action and detained Sammi, Abdul Wahab and four other nominated persons, while others fled.

Ahead of the protest, the commissioner imposed Section 144, and all roads leading to the Karachi Press Club — the venue of the protest — were blocked with the help of temporary barriers.

This caused massive traffic jams in the city centre, where citizens remained stuck for hours and many of them were seen breaking their fast on the road.

Two Separate Counter-protests

On the other hand, two separate counter-protests were held in the nearby area, where participants held placards and chanted slogans against the BYC as well as the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

However, it was unclear under what arrangements the counter-protests were organised despite the imposition of Section 144.

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