Several detained as Sindh Culture Day rally turns violent in Karachi

• Police say rally participants pelted vehicles with stones.
• Police use shelling, arrest two individuals over clashes.
• Sindh home minister directs action against those involved.
  

KARACHI: Police detailed several people after a Sindh Culture Day rally on Sharea Faisal turned violent on Sunday.

According to Karachi police, participants of the rally pelted police vehicles with stones, breaking the glass of patrol vans and a water tanker.

The clash reportedly began when police asked the demonstrators to move the rally from Kala Pul towards Saddar. The participants, however, resisted and resorted to stone-pelting, causing property damage.

Police used shelling to disperse the crowd, arresting two individuals for attacking police vehicles.

Meanwhile, traffic authorities said Sharea Faisal remained closed at the FTC, with vehicles being redirected from Kala Pul towards Saddar.

Taking notice of the violence, Sindh Home Minister Zia Lanjar spoke to the Additional IG Karachi and sought a detailed report on the incident.

The Sindh home minister directed police to take immediate action against those involved in the incident.

He ordered that all individuals responsible for damaging police vehicles and public property be arrested without delay.

Later, traffic police said that Sharea Faisal was cleared for traffic at the FTC area.

The Sindh Culture Day is being celebrated today with traditional enthusiasm to highlight the province’s centuries-old culture.

The day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday of December.

Earlier, President Asif Ali Zardari said that Sindh's culture embodied tolerance, peace and national unity, emphasising that it was the collective responsibility of the nation to pass on these values to the next generation.

President Zardari noted that Sindh earned the distinction of establishing a unique constitutional and cultural identity after its separation from the Bombay Presidency in 1936.

He highlighted that Sindh was the first province whose assembly played a pivotal role in history by passing the resolution calling for the creation of Pakistan.