Aurat March marred by stone-pelting incident in Islamabad

The Aurat March in Islamabad on Sunday was marred by a stone-pelting incident which left several people injured and saw the arrest of a burqa-clad man.

A few participants of the march began throwing stones at the gathering in front of Islamabad Press Club, prompting people to hurriedly exit from the venue.

The incident took place when the march was about to come to an end. Some people removed a cloth partition installed for the protection of the participants and infiltrated the demonstration.

On the other side of the partition, a counter-protest had been underway.

Police and organisers struggled to control the situation as shoes and sticks were also thrown into the crowd by miscreants. Geo News footage showed some bricks strewn about on the roads as well.

According to our correspondent, more than 2,000 people had gathered to raise their voice for the economic participation of women, against transgender rape, and called on the government to take action against forced conversions and ensure the rights of minorities.

In the lead up to the March, the country had remained largely divided over whether or not the event should be held.

Pemra had issued an advisory, asking TV channels to refrain from broadcasting ‘vulgar/inappropriate content’ citing Pemra rules as well as court orders.