Residents of Lyari stage demo for Arshad Pappu

KARACHI: A number of people including women from the Lyari area staged a demonstration against the continued detention of Lyari gangster Arshad Pappu and strongly demanded his immediate release. Pappu has been in the Central Prison, Karachi since 2005 under criminal charges. The protesters carrying banners and flags of the ruling PPP chanted slogans in favor of Pappu and against the jail authorities. The slogans inscribed on banners include, “Lyari mein Baloch qoum ki nasakashi band karo” (Stop genocide of the Balochis) and “Jail mein Sardar Arshad Pappu ke sath zulm band karo” (Stop being barbaric to Sardar Arshad Pappu).According to a banner, the protestors had come from different areas of the Lyari, including Bhand Muhalla, Eidoo Lane and Ali Muhmmad Muhalla. They demanded that Karachi Prison Jailors Nusrat Mangan and Hassan Sahto be removed.One of the women who introduced herself as Asma, wife of Arshad Pappu, was also among the protesters. She told the journalists that Pappu was on a hunger strike as the jail authorities have put him in the Band Ward since a week. According to her, relatives are not allowed to meet Pappu.Abdul Majeed Khichi, who introduced himself as a PPP worker from Lyari, said that the police had committed atrocities against the people of Lyari, and putting Arshad Pappu behind bars was one of these atrocities. He avoided a repeatedly asked question about Pappu’s connection with the PPP. Gada Naz, an elderly woman, and Lalee another woman in the protest demonstration said that Pappu was innocent and he should be freed. “Pappu hamari jan hein”, said Gada Naz. The protestors alleged that Pappu is being tortured in jail for the last three days. They said that he has been kept in jail without a judicial remand.