Karachi: Police Detain Jamaat-e-Islami Leaders During Press Conference Marking Two Years of Alleged 2024 Election Rigging

Karachi, February 8, 2026 — Police in Karachi briefly detained several leaders and workers of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) on Sunday while the party attempted to hold a public press conference outside the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) office in Sindh.
The event was organized to mark the second anniversary of the February 8, 2024 general elections, which JI has consistently alleged were marred by widespread rigging and manipulation of results, particularly in urban constituencies of Karachi.
Among those detained were:
Sindh Assembly MPA Muhammad Farooq (also referred to as Farooq Farhan in some reports)
Acting Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi, Muslim Pervez (or Muslim Parvez)
Party sources reported that police dismantled a temporary protest camp/tent set up near the ECP office and took several workers into custody, citing violation of Section 144 (prohibitory orders) and security concerns.
JI leaders condemned the action as an attempt to suppress democratic and peaceful expression. Karachi Ameer Monem Zafar Khan described the police operation as a manifestation of “political fascism” by the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Sindh. He stated that the party would not back down from highlighting alleged electoral fraud and governance failures.
In statements released after their release, detained leaders, including MPA Muhammad Farooq, asserted that they had gathered to exercise their constitutional right to peaceful protest and media briefing. Most of the detained individuals were released within a few hours.
The incident is seen by JI as part of a broader effort to preempt their announced sit-in (dharna) scheduled for February 14, 2026 outside the Sindh Assembly. The party has vowed that the planned protest will proceed regardless, using the hashtag #14Feb_Dharna_toHoga across social media platforms.
JI has long demanded re-election in several Karachi constituencies, accountability for alleged rigging, and greater administrative and financial autonomy for the city under a empowered local government system.
The Karachi police and administration have not issued a detailed official statement on the detentions at the time of this report, though one senior police official was quoted saying no formal arrests were made and no workers were shifted to a police station for long-term detention.
The episode underscores the continuing political tensions in Sindh surrounding the 2024 elections and urban governance issues in Karachi.