Karachi police on Wednesday fired water cannon and resorted to baton - charge to prevent protesting PTI activists, who have staged a sit - in on main Abdullah Haroon Road near Metropole Hotel in support of the demands of sugarcane growers, from moving towards the Chief Minister's House to lodge their protest.
DIG Azad Khan said that the action was taken by the police after the failure of the talks between the officials and the PTI leaders. "Some protesters have also been taken into custody, " he said. Earlier in the day, Sindh police stopped the Kisan Insaf Rally near Nooriabad on the National Highway from marching towards Karachi.
The rally had started its journey from Hyderabad in the afternoon to protest against the refusal of sugar mills to pay the officially fixed price of cane crop to growers. After the rally participants were cornered near Nooriabad, PTI workers came out in their support in Karachi and staged a sit - in near Metropole Hotel.
The police contingents have been deployed in the Red Zone to prevent the sugarcane growers and activists from moving towards the CM House to lodge their protest. In the aftermath of the rally and subsequent protests, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah ordered all sugar mills in the province to start crushing season within the next 24 hours.