International

Flash Protesters Make Their Point in Pakistan

Published November 12, 2007 at 4:00 AM PST

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

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A flash protester calls for the ejection of President Musharraf at a supermarket in Karachi last week. (Image obscured by NPR to protect the individual.)

Dr. Awad Alvi sends these pictures from a flash protest he joined in Karachi. NPR obscured the faces to protect the people involved.

Large, violent protests have dominated the news from Pakistan in recent days.

Dr. Awab Alvi and his friends take a different approach to show their distaste for President Pervez Musharraf, who has called for elections January but who is also keeping the country under a state of emergency.

Giving a wide berth the tear gas and police batons of the larger demonstrations, Alvi and his friends are staging impromptu flash gatherings.

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The idea is to collect a small group of people on a street. They protest for as long as they think is safe and then quickly disappear. Everyone puts away the signs and takes off the armbands. "We make sure that it's wrapped up," the dentist says.

On our blog: a slideshow from a protest.