Karachi Press Club | Pakistan

KARACHI: The PTI held a protest near the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Wednesday to mark three years since the imprisonment of party founder Imran Khan and demand his release. The demonstration led to traffic disruptions in the surrounding areas after authorities blocked routes leading to the venue, causing severe congestion and leaving commuters stranded for extended periods. A screenshot showing closed roads in Karachi’s Saddar Town area. — Screengrab from Google Maps A police official, who wished not to be named, said that some PTI workers and leaders were detained near the Press Club. They confirmed that police resorted to tear gas shelling and used baton charges to disperse the demonstrators, adding that after the police action, the road was cleared for traffic in the evening. The PTI in a statement said it staged demonstrations in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Nawabshah, Umerkot, Mithi and other parts of Sindh, with participants demanding Imran’s release. In Karachi, the demonstration was led by PTI Sin...

KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Monday granted bail to 24 PTI workers and leaders who were arrested a day earlier for staging a protest near Karachi Press Club (KPC) against the increase in fuel prices due to the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. PTI workers and leaders were arrested after they clashed with police near the press club on Sunday. Judicial Magistrate Abdul Ahad Memon issued the order, a copy of which is available with Dawn, and granted bail to the 24 workers and leaders against surety bonds of Rs5,000 each. However, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) sent four PTI leaders, who were arrested on Sunday, to prison on judicial remand in a case pertaining to rioting during a rally at Banaras Chowk on Aug 24, 2025. PTI counsel Advocate Shujaat Ali Khan told Dawn that after arresting the four leaders — Alamgir Khan, Meeraj, Khalid Mehmood and Daawa Khan — a day ago, police had also implicated them in the old case pertaining to rioting during a rally at Banaras Chowk registered at Peerabad police station. He...

KARACHI: Police on Sunday detained 23 PTI leaders and workers, including two former lawmakers, after they clashed with the police near Karachi Press Club (KPC), an official said. PTI workers and supporters had gathered at the spot to hold a demonstration against rising fuel prices. The PTI had announced a protest outside KPC at 4pm today against “rising inflation in the country and the increase in prices of petroleum products to record levels”. But the situation turned violent, with the PTI alleging that police subjected the protesters to violence. The PTI’s Sindh chapter shared a video on X showing policewomen dragging women. “Women participating in the protest against inflation were beaten and arrested,” the party alleged. But, in a video statement, South Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mahzor Ali said “some miscreants” pelted stones at police personnel, who were deployed to “control law and order”. He added that the police responded to the pelting through “shelling and baton-charge”. Responding to a ...

KARACHI: A large number of people gathered outside the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday to protest the killing of a man during an alleged encounter by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) a day earlier, alleging that the deceased was a student who was earlier arrested by law enforcers. On Tuesday, the CTD said that officials had conducted a raid on a house in Shah Latif Town on a terrorist hideout. According to the department, the men inside the house opened fire on officials, who then retaliated, leading to the deaths of four suspects. The CTD said the suspects belonged to the Bashir Zeb network of Fitna al-Hindustan, a term used by the state for Balochistan-based terrorist groups. However, on Wednesday afternoon, a large number of residents of Old Golimar, including women and children, protested and staged a sit-in outside the KPC, demanding justice for Hamdan, one of the killed suspects identified by the CTD. The deceased’s father, Mohammed Ali said that on December 29, 2025, his son Hamdan was allegedly ...

KARACHI: Eight leaders and workers from different left-wing political parties were detained outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC), reportedly to prevent them from attending a multi-party conference called by the Popular Left Alliance (PLA), according to organisers. However, police denied the claim. Imdad Qazi, the secretary general of the Communist Party of Pakistan and the convenor of the PLA, told Dawn that the 10-party alliance had called the moot to debate democracy and authoritarianism in Pakistan. However, police contingents were already deployed in the area, he said. “Five veteran political workers, namely Husain Fatimi, Dr Hasan Nasir, Ramzam Memon, Shaheena, Mohammed Farooq and three other activists were apprehended by the police outside the KPC, to prevent them from attending the conference,” Qazi alleged. Meanwhile, South Senior Superintendent of Police Mahzoor Ali denied the claim that arrests were made outside the KPC. In a statement, the PLA said, “Complete authoritarian rule has been imposed in ...

KARACHI: Roads leading to the Karachi Press Club (KPC) were blocked for hours on Monday as lawyers, human rights activists and civil society members staged a protest against the conviction of Imaan Zainab Hazir-Mazari and her husband, Hadi Ali Chatta. The closure of roads slowed down the movement of traffic on several arteries affected by the move, causing inconvenience for commuters. Police barred several protesters, including activist Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Junior, from reaching the press club — a move that KPC President and journalist Fazil Jamili called a violation of the fundamental right to peaceful assembly. “The siege of the Karachi Press Club today is a blatant assault on democratic freedoms. By cordoning off the KPC and barring citizens, including Zulfiqar Bhutto Jr., from protesting the sentencing of Imaan Mazari, authorities are violating the fundamental right to peaceful assembly,” he posted on social media platform X. Lawyer and human rights activist Jibran Nasir posted on social media platform X t...

Police on Thursday blocked routes leading to the Karachi Press Club ahead of a press conference by Aurat March over the alleged “abduction” of two Baloch girls and briefly detained an activist, with organisers claiming that other members were also manhandled. Aurat March, a women’s rights group, was set to hold a press conference at 3pm over the alleged “abduction” of two Baloch girls — 15-year-old Nasreen Baloch and 24-year-old Mahjabeen Baloch. Authorities closed off roads leading to KPC ahead of the press conference, which eventually began with a delay of approximately 20 minutes as the organisers said they were “stopped by the police” at the gate of the press club. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) member Qazi Khizar said an activist named Sara was taken by the police from outside the KPC. Within a few hours, Aurat March confirmed to Dawn that she had been released. Dawn has reached out to the police for a comment on the detention. Senior journalist Dodal Chandio said in a post on Facebook that “...

The Karachi police on Friday detained about half a dozen people to prevent them from moving towards the venue of a scheduled protest by the opposition alliance Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), held as part of countrywide demonstrations against the recently passed 27th Constitutional Amendment. All roads leading to the Karachi Press Club (KPC) were closed by the police after buses and other heavy vehicles were parked to block access. Contingents of female police personnel were also deployed. Some protesters were detained as they attempted to reach KPC. PTI Sindh spokesperson Mohammed Ali Bozdar told Dawn that “more than two dozen protesters” were detained near the KPC. Also detained was civil society activist Alifya Sohail, not part of the TTAP protest, who was initially taken to the Artillery Maidan Police Station, where her phone was taken from her and she was not permitted to contact anyone. She was subsequently moved to the Women Police Station situated on Sharae Faisal. No case was registered agai...