Violence erupts at Karachi protest as police use shelling to disperse MWM protesters

Karachi [Pakistan], January 1 : A protest by the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) party in Karachi turned violent on Tuesday (local time) as police used shelling to disperse protesters at Numaish Chowrangi.
According to ARY News, the shelling by the police provoked violent retaliation from the protesters, who pelted stones at the police. The violence left multiple officers injured, including SSP Keamari Faizan Ali and members of the Special Security Unit (SSU) Commandos.
The police have also detained several protesters for attacking the officials.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah condemned the violence, underlining that no harm would be allowed to public and private property, as reported by ARY News.
"Everyone has the right to protest, but causing damage to public property is an act of mischief," said the Chief Minister of Sindh. He further stated that legal action would be taken against those responsible for setting vehicles on fire.
The Chief Minister also clarified that designated platforms had been provided for protests. "We have allowed specific platforms for protests, and we expect them to be used properly," he added.
MWM had called for nationwide protests in solidarity with the people of Parachinar, who have been staging sit-ins demanding justice and peace amid ongoing violence and killings, as reported by Dawn.
Earlier, MWM leader Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi had announced that the sit-ins were peaceful and did not represent political groups. He called on the Sindh government not to use them for political gain. Naqvi stated that MWM would end the sit-in if the people of Parachinar did. The Express Tribune reported.
While addressing an emergency press conference at the Numaish Chowrangi sit-in, Naqvi said that MWM realises the trouble caused to the people and called it a reason for not giving a full call for the sit-in yet.
He said that the government would not be able to stop the sit-ins if a call for sit-ins across Sindh was given. He warned the authorities not to place undue pressure on the Jafariya community, adding that the people of the community would not tolerate anyone's dictatorship, and the protest sit-ins would continue, the report said.