Citizens stage protest outside Karachi Press Club against killing of suspect during CTD raid

KARACHI: A large number of people gathered outside the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday to protest the killing of a man during an alleged encounter by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) a day earlier, alleging that the deceased was a student who was earlier arrested by law enforcers.

On Tuesday, the CTD said that officials had conducted a raid on a house in Shah Latif Town on a terrorist hideout.

According to the department, the men inside the house opened fire on officials, who then retaliated, leading to the deaths of four suspects. The CTD said the suspects belonged to the Bashir Zeb network of Fitna al-Hindustan, a term used by the state for Balochistan-based terrorist groups.

However, on Wednesday afternoon, a large number of residents of Old Golimar, including women and children, protested and staged a sit-in outside the KPC, demanding justice for Hamdan, one of the killed suspects identified by the CTD.

The deceased’s father, Mohammed Ali said that on December 29, 2025, his son Hamdan was allegedly taken away by the CTD.

He said that he had also filed a petition before the Sindh High Court against the alleged disappearance of his son.  He asserted that it was a “fake encounter” and termed it an “extra-judicial killing”.

He further alleged that the CTD was not even handing over the body and was demanding that he sign a form admitting that his son was a “terrorist”.

He said that the CTD, in a press conference on Jan 6, 2026, had announced the arrest of his son Hamdan and others, and their affiliation with a banned terrorist organisation.

He said that his son was a student who had no affiliation with any terror group.

The father said that his son was supposed to be presented before a court on Wednesday after the completion of his physical remand in the CTD custody. However, the family was informed that he had been killed in an alleged encounter.

He said the family visited the Edhi morgue, but were informed by officials that they would not hand over the body without the approval of the CTD.