PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal Thursday said the torture of his party’s workers by the security personnel in Nazimabad area of Karachi was state-sponsored violence.
In a statement, the PML-N leader said his party workers were tortured when he visited the area for symbolic inauguration of the Green Line Bus Rapid Transit project.
The situation escalated when Ahsan was stopped from moving further after his arrival at the site. He, however, raised his hand at the spot he was standing as a gesture to signify that he had performed the symbolic inauguration.
A melee was witnessed at the site as PML-N workers and leaders were stopped from going towards the pedestrian bridge built as part of the project, and a video of the incident shows Rangers personnel stopping them from moving forward.
PML-N Karachi chapter general secretary Nasiruddin Mehmood claimed that PML-N workers also faced hindrances when they tried to visit the project’s site Wednesday night.
He said private guards did not allow them to reach the site, and when they visited it again on Thursday morning, they were stopped by Rangers and police. Nasiruddin said when they told law enforcers that they were there only for the symbolic inauguration of the project, the security personnel said they had been asked by the federal government to stop them.
“When the PML-N workers were pushed back, they went and stood at some distance,” he said, adding that after Ahsan reached the site in the afternoon, he was also stopped by the paramilitary personnel. “Ahsan Iqbal was beaten with sticks twice and a leader from the party’s women wing, Perveen Bashir, suffered bruises on a finger when she was hit,” he said, adding that party leader Sorath Thebo also fell down amid the ruckus and suffered injuries. “We were peacefully demonstrating and did not want to challenge the writ of the state and yet we were subjected to high-handedness,” he said.
Later, while speaking to the media, Ahsan said the Green Line project was launched by the PML-N government in 2016 and its foundation was laid by then prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He said the project was supposed to reach completion in 2018, alleging that its execution was delayed because it was initiated by his party.
