KARACHI – Social media campaigner and the man behind the “Fix It” campaign Alamgir Khan was arrested on Thursday as he got into a scuffle with the police outside the Sindh CM House in Karachi.
Alamgir was about to empty garbage bins outside the Sindh CM House in Karachi when police tried to stop him and eventually arrested him. Alamgir made headlines when he sprayed stencils of Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah’s face near open manholes of the city, urging him to fix them.
After a brief talk with police and a minor scuffle, the campaigner was taken away by police personnel. Speaking to the media before his arrest, Alamgir said, “Karachi produces 12 tonnes of garbage on a daily basis; this garbage could be recycled to generate electricity and other useful products.”
“I cautioned the authorities in advance to take action and clean the garbage littered in the city, but it was not cleaned and I took the symbolic initiative of a peaceful protest against it,” Alamgir maintained.
“Instead of letting me know where I could spill the garbage, provincial authorities placed a container in my way and deployed police to bar me from reaching the CM House.”
“I am not here to harm the sanctity of CM House; I want them to realise how this garbage causes diseases and inconvenience to the citizens,” Alamgir said.
Meanwhile, supporters of the campaign gathered outside the Civil Lines Police Station, where the activist has reportedly been detained, and painted images of CM Shah to protest Alamgir’s arrest and demand his immediate release.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Karachi leader Imran Ismail and other PTI workers are also present outside the police station to express solidarity with Alamgir.
Earlier on January 13, Alamgir invited the Sindh CM to “come see me if he [CM] needed to contact me,” saying Qaim Ali Shah would have to come where he had invited him.
