Daily Times

KARACHI: The family members, relatives, friends and supporters of imprisoned City Mayor Waseem Akhtar staged a protest demonstration for his release and justice from the court.

They gathered at ‘Do Talwar’ here on Sundayunder strict security measures by the administration and police. “We want justice” inscribed on some of the placards in the hands of the participants.

They chanted slogans in favor of newly elected mayor of Karachi and demanded his early release. Waseem’s wife, daughters, and a son requested to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Supreme Court of Pakistan to release him on political grounds.

Waseem’s wife Naila asked why the citizens of Karachi are being deprived of their mayor and Waseem at the time of his nomination did not have any legal cases against him but after July 15th around 20 cases have been registered.

“Now he is facing 39 cases. 35 cases have been registered only in District Malir and the complaints lodged at police stations are by the dwellers of Goths and even their cell phone numbers and home addresses were not correct,” she lamented.

She made a request to the court to take notice of this situation and send these complaints to a fact finding commission. Naila claimed that the name of Waseem was also inducted in the FIR (or in challan) in Dr Asim case as a facilitator.

The Mayor’s wife stated that Sindh High Court (SHC) took the notice of May 12 incident and converted it into a petition, while in its judgment the court declared that security arrangements taken by the then administration were right.

And, she added, after the nine years of this incident Waseem was implicated in eight cases. She asked Asma Jahangir, a Human Rights Activist, to play her due role in this case. “Our protest is purely on humanitarian grounds,” she asserted.