to detain anyone and confiscate their property without giving a reason. On 12 August 1948, supporters of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement protested against the arrest of their leaders and the new ordinance enforced by the government. The protesters marched from Charsadda to Babrra ground. However, when they reached Babrra ground, Abdul Qayyum Khan ordered the police to open fire on protesters. According to official figures, around 15 protestors were killed while around 40 were injured. However, Khudai Khidmatgar sources maintained that around 150 were killed and 400 were injured. Aftermath In mid-September 1948, the central government of Pakistan banned the Khudai Khidmatgar movement and many of its supporters were arrested. The provincial government destroyed the centre of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement at Sardaryab, Charsadda District. In July 1950, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, president of the All Pakistan Awami Muslim League (which later evolved into the Awami League and later Prime Minister of Pakistan, said at a large gathering in Dhaka, East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh): “The barbarous massacre of the Red Shirts (Khudai Khidmatgars) committed at Charsadda in 1948 surpassed the Jallianwala Bagh massacre committed by the British in 1919.” See also 2010 Abbottabad police killings Qissa Khwani Bazaar massacre Takkar massacre Hathikhel massacre References Further reading Gandhi, Rajmohan (2004) Ghaffar Khan: Nonviolent Badshah of the Pakhtuns, Penguin Books India, New Delhi Khan, Khan Abdul Ghaffar (1969), My Life and Struggle, Hind Pocket Books, Delhi Mass murder in 1948 August 1948 events in Asia Massacres in 1948 Political history of Pakistan History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Massacres in Pakistan 1948 in Pakistan Charsadda District, Pakistan Government of Liaquat Ali Khan Protest-related deaths Crimes committed by law enforcement