Marchers-police violent clash turns things sour in Aurat March Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD -- A violent fight broke out outside the Press Club today as women and transgender people from various fields gathered for the Aurat March rally, where the police beat attendees with batons and allegedly tried to 'stop' the rally.

The Aurat March is a rally conducted every year by women across the country on International Women's Day to voice their grievances and celebrate womanhood.

A verbal spat between the participants of the rally and the police occurred after they questioned the large number of transgender people trying to join the rally, the police said, adding that large groups of women were joining the march.

Women at the march alleged that the police had 'tried hard to stop the rally'.

Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman also participated in the rally and strongly condemned the violence that broke out.

Taking to her Twitter handle, Rehman said: 'Friends from Aurat Azadi March are rightly upset. The Islamabad police had NO business laathi charging a small peaceful procession. It is the women holding laathis that need to be pushed back, not progressive women. Sad to see this happening. Will seek an inquiry'

In another tweet, she said: 'I strongly condemn this violence and have sought an inquiry on the incident. There is no excuse for this. That too on Int'l Women's Day. This is not what we fought for and will not tolerate it. Has been brought to the Interior Minister's notice.' During the rally, participants chanted slogans for women's rights and were joined by transgender people, whom the police stopped to question.

Soon there was serious disorder outside the Islamabad Press Club, and the marchers began to raise slogans against the government and the media.

Several reporters present at the event voiced concerns over the fact that despite covering the incident peacefully all morning, they had come under the wraps of the fight. A...

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