Islamabad, May 8 (IANS) The handling of the Aurat March by Pakistan’s Sindh government this week has been criticised as a “disgraceful assault” on democratic freedoms. The events outside the Karachi Press Club could not be law enforcement, but the “suppression of peaceful civic activity”, a report said on Friday.
According to an editorial in leading Pakistani daily Dawn, Aurat March organisers, for the eighth consecutive year, faced delays and intimidation over the issuance of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for their annual event.
Highlighting the persistent restrictions, it said, “Just days before the scheduled march, the authorities still had not granted permission. Then came the spectacle of activists — including veteran classical dancer Sheema Kermani — being dragged into police vans for attempting to hold a press conference. A mere press conference.”
The report questioned under what law the government considered it illegal for organisers to address the media inside a press club.
“Even under Section 144 restrictions, holding a press conference within the Karachi Press Club does not constitute unlawful assembly. Yet the police impeded access, detained activists — later released — and reportedly manhandled women demanding nothing more radical than constitutional rights,” the newspaper opined.
It highlighted a recurring visible pattern surrounding Aurat March events, with NOCs delayed until the last moment, confusion deliberately generated, and organisers made to believe that constitutional freedoms require state approval.
“This is especially shameful for a ruling party that endlessly invokes its progressive credentials and the democratic legacy of Benazir Bhutto,” it added.
The report noted that Sindh cannot claim to champion women in politics in speeches while suppressing their presence on the streets. It added that democratic rhetoric coexists alongside the intimidation of citizens demanding constitutional freedoms.
“The right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are constitutional guarantees. If the state now views even a women-led press conference as something to be feared, what does that say about the shrinking space for dissent in Pakistan’s democracy?’ the report questioned.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also condemned the arrest of Aurat March organisers and volunteers outside the Karachi Press Club, saying that these are not isolated incidents but part of a broader and deeply troubling pattern of restricting public space in the country.
The remarks came after police on Tuesday briefly arrested several Aurat March leaders, including activist and artist Sheema Kermani, outside the Karachi Press Club.
“The rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are constitutionally guaranteed. Preventing citizens, particularly women and marginalised groups, from even convening a press conference reflects an increasingly repressive approach to governance, where dissent is treated as a threat rather than a democratic necessity,” the HRCP stated.
–IANS
scor/as