On 26 January 2022, members of the

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Muttahida Qaumi Movement (abbreviated MQM) is a name currently claimed by two competing Pakistani political factions: * Muttahida Qaumi Movement – London, a political faction managed from the UK * Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan Muttah ...

staged a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

protest in front of the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

's House in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, against the Local Government Amendment Bill in

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. The

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

baton-charged and shelled protest demonstrators on violation of the Red Zone, killing a protester and injuring several others. As a result of the baton charge, several workers including a member of the Sindh Assembly, Sadaqat Hussain, were

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

d and arrested. The area around the Chief Minister's House was turned into a battlefield as police and protesters clashed. The protesters were supposed to protest outside the

Karachi Press Club The Karachi Press Club (KPC @pressclubkhi) ( ur, ) is an organization of the community of the journalists. It also takes account of academics, business people and people from the public service. Karachi Press Club was the first press club that w ...

but suddenly the MQM leaders and workers changed their destination and reached outside the Chief Minister's House and staged a sit-in. Sindh Information Minister

Saeed Ghani Saeed Ghani ( ur, ; born 8 July 1972) is a Pakistani politician who is currently serving as Provincial Minister of Sindh for Labour and Information and Human Resources. He has been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh since August 2018 ...

said that the situation was such that the police had to take action. The MQM announced to go to the press club but then they started coming to the Chief Minister's House. The incident also took place as Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan supporters were staging demonstrations across the area.

Reactions

Federal Minister

Asad Umar Asad Umar ( ur, ; born 18 September 1961) is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since September 2013. He served as the Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initi ...

strongly condemned the violence at the MQM protests in Karachi and said that "the dictatorial style of government of the PPP in the guise of democracy was highly reprehensible." Members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam movement vowed to hold protests in solidarity with the MQM. MQM-Pakistan convener

Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui () is a Pakistani politician who had been Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, in office from 20 August 2018 to 06 April 2020. He has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, sin ...

said, "We will observe a black day against this incident and demands action against Chief Minister

Murad Ali Shah Syed Murad Ali Shah ( ur, , ; born 8 November 1962) is a Pakistani politician and structural engineer who is the 29th and current Chief Minister of Sindh province of Pakistan and has been a member of the Sindh Assembly. Early life and educa ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

said that he had taken notice of the violence of the police against the protesters and had demanded a report from the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

Chief Secretary Sindh The Chief Secretary Sindh (Urdu: ), also referred to as CS Sindh, is the chief and highest-ranking official of the Government of Sindh. The appointment of the Chief Secretary is made by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. The position of Chief Secreta ...

and Inspector General of Sindh Police.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karachi protests, 2022 2022 in Sindh 2022 protests 2022 protests January 2022 events in Pakistan Muttahida Qaumi Movement Police brutality in Asia Protests in Pakistan Torture in Pakistan 2022 in Pakistani politics