KARACHI: A large crowd gathered outside the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday to protest the death of a man killed in an alleged encounter by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) the day before. The deceased, Hamdan, was described by his family as a student wrongfully targeted. On Tuesday, CTD said officials raided a house in Shah Latif Town, calling it a terrorist hideout. According to CTD, the suspects inside opened fire, leading officials to fire back and kill four men. CTD claimed the men belonged to a banned terrorist group called the Bashir Zeb network of Fitna al-Hindustan. However, on Wednesday, residents from Old Golimar, including women and children, protested and held a sit-in outside the press club demanding justice for Hamdan. Hamdan's father, Mohammed Ali, said his son was taken by CTD on December 29, 2025. He accused the CTD of staging a "fake encounter" and called it an "extra-judicial killing." He also said the CTD is refusing to hand over Hamdan's body unless he signs a paper admitting his son was a terrorist. Ali said his son was a student with no links to terrorist groups. The father added that Hamdan was expected to appear in court after his remand ended, but the family was told he was killed in the encounter. The family asked for the body at the Edhi morgue but officials said they need CTD permission to release it.