What happened
Police in Karachi used tear gas and baton charges on Saturday against Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) workers who were marching towards the Sindh Assembly to stage a sit-in, and detained several of them.
The party had announced the protest under its “Jeenay Do Karachi Ko” (Let Karachi Live) campaign, demanding urgent measures to address the city’s damaged roads, drainage problems and issues in the local government system.
After the crackdown, JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar announced that protests would be held at 10 locations across the city the following day (Sunday) and told party workers to disperse for now. Speaking at a press conference, Zafar demanded Karachi’s rights and described the police action as the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party’s “fascist behaviour” in the city. He also alleged that expired tear gas shells from 2022 and 2023 were used against protesters.
The competing accounts
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said police and the local administration had been in contact with JI and had advised the party to hold a peaceful protest, warning it not to enter the Red Zone. Speaking to Geo News, he said JI workers violated Section 144 and pelted police with stones after entering the Red Zone, forcing authorities to use tear gas and make arrests. He said no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.
JI Pakistan Emir Naeemur Rehman condemned the police action, saying the country was witnessing what he called the PPP’s “fascist conduct” in Karachi. He said the firing of tear gas at peaceful citizens and attempts to block the sit-in demonstrated the provincial government’s failure and panic, and argued that an empowered city government was Karachi’s right. Addressing a press conference at the party’s headquarters, he announced that protests would be organised across the country on Sunday and demanded the immediate release of all detained workers.
What was reported at the scene
Tensions escalated when protesters tried to move past barricades outside the Sindh Assembly. Police fired tear gas and used batons to push them back. At least one JI worker was injured in the baton charge and shelling, the party’s sound system mounted on a truck was confiscated, and at least nine workers were detained. Police said three officers were injured after protesters allegedly threw stones. Several JI workers still managed to reach the assembly premises, and hundreds of activists remained assembled on Court Road near the Sindh Assembly.
What is still uncertain
The exact number of people detained remained contested, with one account putting it at at least nine workers and another at about ten. It was not immediately clear whether any of those held had been formally charged, and there was no word on a negotiated end to the standoff or on the timing of the announced Sunday sit-ins.
Sources & reporting notes
This article summarises published reporting, not eyewitness coverage. Sources were reviewed on 14 February 2026.
- The News — "JI announces sit-ins at 10 sites across Karachi after clashes with police"14 February 2026 · Reports the Sindh Assembly protest, the police crackdown, the JI and provincial government accounts, and the call for nationwide protests.
