ISLAMABAD (Big Digit) Police ‘storm’ Pakistan Day rally in Fateh Jang

ISLAMABAD (Big Digit): A police operation against a Pakistan Day rally in Fateh Jang has sparked deep concern among human rights groups, legal experts, and international observers.

Eyewitnesses said that dozens of residents in NA-50 were waving Pakistan’s national flag and singing the national anthem to mark the day when a contingent of police suddenly moved in.

The rally was reportedly led by Eman Tahir Sadiq. According to participants, officers from the local police station became “agitated” at the sight of national flags and immediately began dispersing the gathering. During the operation, police allegedly baton-charged several participants, seized Ms Sadiq’s personal vehicles, and arrested political workers Aamir Liaquat Khan and Farhan Afzal Khan.

Local sources said the action was carried out without any court warrant or prior notice. Lawyers specialising in human rights described it as a “blatant violation” of Articles 16 and 19 of the Constitution, which guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

Social activists remarked that “for the first time in history, a country’s own police stormed its Independence rally — setting a new precedent for state overreach.”

Citing past statements by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, analysts warned that such incidents could negatively affect Pakistan’s human rights record and raise questions in the diplomatic arena. International observers noted that preventing citizens from hoisting the national flag on a national day signals “intolerance and weakness of democratic values” to the global community.

No official statement has yet been issued by Pakistani authorities, and there has been no update on the release of the detainees or the return of the confiscated vehicles.