Minister berates Islamabad police for resorting to lathi charge
\n ISLAMABAD
\nA violent fight broke out outside the Press Club today as women and transgender people from various fields gathered for the Aurat March rally, where the police beat attendees with batons and allegedly tried to \u201cstop\u201d the rally.
\nThe Aurat March is a rally conducted every year by women across the country on International Women\u2019s Day to voice their grievances and celebrate womanhood.
\nA verbal spat between the participants of the rally and the police occurred after they questioned the large number of transgender people trying to join the rally, the police said, adding that large groups of women were joining the march.
\nWomen at the march alleged that the police had \u201ctried hard to stop the rally\u201d.
\nFederal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman also participated in the rally and strongly condemned the violence that broke out.
\nTaking to her Twitter handle, Rehman said: \u201cFriends from Aurat Azadi March are rightly upset. The Islamabad police had NO business laathi charging a small peaceful procession. It is the women holding laathis that need to be pushed back, not progressive women. Sad to see this happening. Will seek an inquiry\u201d
\nIn another tweet, she said: \u201cI strongly condemn this violence and have sought an inquiry on the incident. There is no excuse for this. That too on Int\u2019l Women\u2019s Day. This is not what we fought for and will not tolerate it. Has been brought to the Interior Minister\u2019s notice.\u201d
\nDuring the rally, participants chanted slogans for women\u2019s rights and were joined by transgender people, whom the police stopped to question.
\nSoon there was serious disorder outside the Islamabad Press Club, and the marchers began to raise slogans against the government and the media.
\nSeveral reporters present at the event voiced concerns over the fact that despite covering the incident peacefully all morning, they had come under the wraps of the fight. A woman reporter and a cameraman from a local news channel also sustained injuries.
\nThe organisers of the march also shouted slogans against Rehman, who then left the venue.
\nHuman rights activist Farzana Bari demands that Rehman take the woman to D Chowk. However, the climate minister said that the IG couldn\u2019t give permission.
\n\u201cI spoke to Islamabad IG yesterday regarding the march, but he said it was not possible for him to give permission to go to D Chowk since he feared there might be a clash,\u201d she explained.
\nTo this Bari responded: \u201cWe want the state to block the path of the \u201cterrorists\u201d and allow us to march.\u201d
\nThe marchers further demanded that the Deputy Commissioner and DIG should resign.
\n\u201cIt is a pity that the peaceful women\u2019s march was a victim of the conflict,\u201d Rehman said condemning the violence that broke out.
\nShe maintained that the administration should have decided the route first.
\nFollowing the spate that broke out, a number of people and organisations have spoken up against the administrations and condemned the brutality.
\nThe Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) tweeted:
\n\u201cHRCP deplores the use of force by the Islamabad police against citizens at the Aurat Azadi March. We are also concerned by reports that religious organizations have tried to hinder women from taking part in the march. Women have as much right to peaceful assembly as any citizen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Minister berates Islamabad police for resorting to lathi charge ISLAMABAD A violent fight broke out outside the Press Club today as women and transgender people from various fields gathered for the Aurat March rally, where the police beat attendees with batons and allegedly tried to \u201cstop\u201d the rally. The Aurat March is a rally conducted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":318310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-318297","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n