Chaudhry Iftikhar's Speaking Tour Across Pakistan
Leading up to the freedom of Judiciary, Chaudhry had been speaking at cities across Pakistan, with his most recent visit being to the city of Lahore. During his final speech before riots, the major focus of his rhetoric was that the government had "no right" to impose laws violating "basic human rights".
In this speech he went on to say, "Those countries and nations who don’t learn from the past and repeat those mistakes destroyed," At the meeting, banners supporting the independence of the judiciary and denouncing Musharraf hung on boundary walls surrounding the compound. Chaudhry’s vehicle was showered with rose petals as he stopped to greet supporters, and people pushed close to get a glimpse of him. The authorities made no effort to stop the caravan, although opposition parties have since claimed that political workers were arrested during the procession.
The city as his plane landed at approximately midday at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. These fires later spread to the main Shahrah-e-Faisal Road connecting the airport with the Sindh High Court. Smoke arose from at least four areas of the city, as rioters burned cars, buses and trucks.' During the rampage, it was mostly the supporters of Chaudhry who lost their lives. 15 members of Awami National Party (ANP) were killed (Pashtuns make up second largest ethnic group in Karachi with 7.0 millions pashtuns live in karachi). 14 supporters of PPP were also left dead in the massacre.
More than 800 political workers were arrested, majority of whom were members of labor and student organizations that had been planning to greet Chaudhry on his arrival.
Read more about this topic: 2007 Karachi Riots
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