Tension escalates between Sindh, center over arrest of PSP leadership

ISLAMABAD: Tension has escalated between the Sindh and federal governments over arrest of the top Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leadership. The former wants to register a case against them, while the latter wants them to be released, ARY News reported.

Police on Sunday arrested several senior Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leaders including chairman Mustafa Kamal, Waseem Aftab, Raza Haroon and Dr Sagheer from their rally on Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi.

PSP held a protest march demanding basic necessities of life for the citizens of Karachi, including water, electricity, education, health and better transport. The rally was taken out from the FTC flyover and was heading towards Chief Minister House, in red zone of the city.

Read More: Police arrest PSP top brass including Mustafa Kamal

Police resorted to heavy water canon firing, baton-charging and teargas shelling on the participants of the rally who had barely reached near Aisha Bawany Academy school from FTC flyover.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan condemned the act of using force to disperse peaceful participants of the rally and arrest of the PSP leadership. He said the Sindh government had failed to provide the citizens basic necessities of life.

“The constitution gives permission to masses for holding peaceful protest,” he said.

Leaders of different political parties called this act of the Sindh government unwarranted and uncalled-for.

Governor Sindh Muhammed Zubair, Ameer Jamat-e-Islami Karachi Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Khurram Sher Zaman condemned arrest of the PSP top brass and said PSP has constitutional right to hold protest in the city.

On the other hand, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Maula Bakhsh Chandio said it was better if the interior minister had got information from the Sindh government before giving statement in haste.

The spokesman for CM House said the provincial government was constantly in talks with the PSP leaders, however nobody could be allowed to challenge writ of the government.

He said Nisar should first condemn the incident of Model Town in Lahore, which claimed several lives in 2014.