Pakistani police today prevented activists of the Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), considered a front for the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba, from organising a rally here and arrested over 50 of them.
A large number of ASWJ workers gathered on Mall Road to protest recent sectarian killings in Bhakkar district of Punjab and the arrest of members of the party.
Senior police officials told ASWJ chief Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi that there was a ban on holding rallies on the Mall Road.
However, the ASWJ activists ignored the ban and went ahead with the protest. Police then pounced on them and arrested over 50 activists, who were taken to a nearby police station.
A large group of activists reached the police station and managed to free the arrested men. Police did not resist, witnesses said.
A Lahore Police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told PTI that some 50 ASWJ activists were arrested but they were freed on the "orders of the high command".
The activists were then allowed to hold a gathering inside Nasser Bagh.
Addressing the rally, Ludhianvi, also head of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, warned the Punjab government to free ASWJ workers arrested in Bhakkar.
At least 15 members of Shia and Sunni groups were killed in clashes in Bhakkar a few weeks ago. Police had arrested 63 activists of both sects and formally charged them in court.
Ludhianvi claimed the ASWJ acted cautiously and remained peaceful despite the killings of its workers. He said the party would hold countrywide protests if its workers were not freed.
