Jamaat-e-Islami stages sit-in against 'illegal' detention of activists by 'agencies'

Thousands of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) activists on Friday staged a protest sit-in to press the government for the release of missing JI workers, underlining a clear warning of mass agitation if the intelligence agencies did not produce the 'illegally' detained workers.
The sit-in, which was attended by thousands of JI supporters and workers carrying banners and party flags, was staged on I. I. Chundrigar Road outside police headquarter against the 'unlawful' detention of their party members. The protestors were also carrying portraits of the missing persons.
Friends, relatives and family members of the missing persons also attended the sit-in against the forced disappearance of their dear ones. They accused the intelligence agencies of picking them up. General Secretary of JI, Liaquat Baloch, led the protest, who warned the government of more such protests in the city and the next one in front of the Chief Minister House, if the government did not pay heed to his party's demand. "If the missing persons were not released then the next protest sit-in will be staged outside Chief Minister's House," he said.
He blamed the government for violations of the human rights, saying "the present government has made the country a hub of inhuman activities." He asked the federal government to share with people the results of its police-led investigation commission report regarding the missing persons or be prepared for the agitation in Islamabad.
Baloch also criticised the government and army for the fresh tussle, saying the nation could not allow any of the institutions to take a belligerent path against one another. He said the army should function under the limits prescribed by the Constitution and should avoid resorting to the extra-constitutional steps, but the government should also show responsibility and understand the public sentiments.
He warned that the world was changing fast and "Pakistan was also in the vortex of change," and urged President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani to respect the public sentiments. JI Secretary General said that Supreme Court constituted commission on missing person could not produce any results so far. He said the missing activist of JI and its student wing Islami Jamiat Talaba were innocent. JI Karachi Chief Muhammad Hussain Mehanti and others addressed the sit-in.