Karachi Baton Charge
Pakistan: Karachi police baton-charge residents protesting against load shedding
Karachi: The Karachi Police resorted to lathi charge on protesting residents, who were demonstrating against load shedding trouble, of Lyari near the Mauripur road of the city on Tuesday, media reports said.
The protesting people were demonstrating on the streets against K-Electric for carrying out unannounced and prolonged power loadshedding and frequent breakdowns.
The demonstrators, who have been protesting since last night, burnt tyres and blocked the road for traffic — which links the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and SITE industrial areas, reports Dawn News.
However, at 11am today, the police baton-charged the protesters after they refused to vacate the main road. Footage on DawnNewsTV showed police commandos firing tear gas at the demonstrators who were chanting slogans against the power utility management and demanding restoration of supply.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asif Bughio, the residents dispersed for a while after the police action but resumed the protest shortly after.
Electricity in several areas of Lyari, particularly the one adjacent to Mauripur road, has been suspended since 4pm yesterday, he said.
"Due to prolonged disruption in the power supply, hundreds of residents blocked the road for hours," the officer told Dawn.com, adding that the police tried to negotiate with them but they attacked the law enforcers with stones.
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