What happened
Karachi police detained 23 leaders and workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including two former lawmakers, after they clashed with officers near the Karachi Press Club on Sunday, a police official said.
The party had announced a demonstration at 4pm against “rising inflation in the country and the increase in prices of petroleum products to record levels”. According to South Deputy Inspector General Syed Asad Raza, around 100 to 150 PTI workers led by the party’s Sindh president, Haleem Adil Sheikh, reached Fawara Chowk on Abdullah Haroon Road but were stopped from moving towards the press club under a section 144 order banning rallies in the Red Zone.
South Senior Superintendent of Police Mahzor Ali said in a video statement that “some miscreants” pelted police personnel with stones, and that officers responded with shelling and a baton charge. The PTI alleged that police subjected the protesters to violence.
DIG Raza said the 23 arrested included former lawmakers Dawa Khan and Alamgir Khan and two lawyers, Maqsood Alam and Khalid Mehmood. He said a first information report had been registered on the state’s behalf at Artillery Maidan police station under Sections 188 (disobedience to a lawful order), 186 (obstructing a public servant), 149 and 147 (unlawful assembly and rioting).
Why it matters
The detentions came at a moment of intense public anger over fuel costs after the government raised petroleum prices by more than 40 per cent on 3 April and then cut the petrol levy the following day. The protest was one of several the party had called across Sindh.
Shortly before noon, two roads leading to the press club had been closed by the traffic police, which cited “security” reasons. They were reopened at night. Karachi Press Club president Fazil Jamili objected to the blockades, writing on X that the club is “a sanctuary of free speech, not a tactical blockade”, while former president Saeed Sarbazi described the sealing of the routes as a “direct assault on press freedom and democratic rights”.
PTI’s Karachi division condemned the arrests, demanded the release of those held and urged the Sindh High Court’s chief justice to take notice of the matter.
What is still uncertain
It was not immediately clear whether those detained would be produced in court or released on bail, or how many of them were formally named in the FIR. The party said its protest programme would continue, but no further schedule had been announced at the time of writing.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 2026-04-05.
- Dawn — "23 PTI leaders, workers arrested as police scuttle protest near Karachi Press Club"Published 5 April 2026 · The number detained, the section 144 order, the FIR sections, the police accounts of stone-pelting and shelling, the names of those held, the road closures and the comments by Karachi Press Club officials.
