Gwadar police on Friday arrested Haq Du Tehreek (HDT) leader Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman outside the court on charges of killing a policeman in the port city of Balochistan.
There was a heavy police presence outside the local court, which arrested Rehman along with three others — days after the HDT leader told them to go to Gwadar to surrender to law enforcement.
ان شاءاللہ گرفتاری دینے کے لیے گوادر شہر پہنچ رہا ہوں۔
— Maulana Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch (@MHidayatRehman) January 9, 2023
The HDT leader has been named in the First Information Report (FIR) on the death of police constable Yasir — who was killed by unidentified assailants during a protest on November 27.
In a statement, police said the constable was shot in the neck and died on the spot. After which Balochistan Home Minister Ziaullah Longo ordered the police to register a case against the HDT leader.
The FIR, which named Rahman and others, alleged that the HDT leader instigated and incited people to pelt stones on government vehicles in protest, following which people pelted stones and police officers. The windows of the car were broken.
The protest, which saw untoward incidents, was part of the HDT’s movement which had a wide range of demands and had been going on for the past two months.
The Haq Du Tehreek protesters in Gwadar are demanding a reduction in the number of check posts, facilitation of cross-border trade and a complete stop to deep-sea fish trawling in the sea adjacent to Gwadar.
In response, the Balochistan Bar Council condemned the arrestees and said the HDT leader had to appear before the court seeking interim bail in the case.
“But instead, the Gwadar police forcefully arrested Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman from the court premises,” the bar council said.
