In a significant development on Wednesday, police briefly detained several leaders of the Aurat March, including prominent activist and artist Sheema Kermani, outside the Karachi Press Club. The group had assembled to hold a press conference when the detentions occurred.
The organisers identified those detained as Kermani, transgender activist Shehzadi Rai, Muniza, and others. Following the brief detention, several women leaders were taken to a police station but were released shortly thereafter, confirmed South Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manzoor Ali. The police presence around the Karachi Press Club was notably increased after the incident.
Aurat March organisers insisted that the gathering was solely for a press briefing when the police intervened. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) voiced serious concerns over the arrests, strongly condemning the detention of the Aurat March organisers and volunteers at the venue.
In a statement shared on X, the HRCP described the incident as part of a “deeply troubling pattern” of restricting public spaces for citizens asserting their rights. The commission underscored that the constitutional rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression must be upheld. It further highlighted that preventing citizens—especially women and marginalized groups—from holding a press conference signals an “increasingly repressive approach to governance,” where dissent is viewed as a threat rather than an essential democratic process.
