Govt allows Tahirul Qadri’s march to stage sit-in at D-Chowk

In a bid to avoid a possible smackdown, the government has surrendered to Tehrik Minhaj-ul-Quran leader Allama Tahir-ul-Qadri’s demand of allowing his long marchers to stage a sit-in at D-Chowk.

On the face of it a showdown was in the making as the chanting protesters responded by pushing aside barricades made of shipping containers and barbed wire.

Though, riot police were on standby and authorities moved extra shipping containers into the road to block their way but the protesters pushed through.

Earlier, Tehrik Minhaj-ul-Quran leader, Allama Tahir-ul-Qadri, in the wee hours of Tuesday warned the government to dissolve the assemblies by 11:00 AM as he was declaring them null and void.

“The ones sitting in the offices out there (pointing towards PM House and Presidency) are former president and prime minister. Their time is up, our time is now”, he warned the incumbent government while addressing thousands of his devoted supporters sitting under the sky in the cold foggy night.

He told the government to dissolve the national and provincial assemblies voluntarily by 11:00 AM (Tuesday) or else people would start taking decisions of their own.

“I will give you (the government) a deadline until tomorrow to dissolve the federal parliament and provincial assemblies. After that, the people’s assembly here will take charge,” said Qadri, stabbing the air with his forefinger from behind a bullet-proof box erected on a podium.

Qadri stated he wants the judiciary to bar corrupt politicians from running for office and has said elections scheduled for this spring should be delayed indefinitely until Pakistan’s endemic corruption is rooted out.

Qadri said the mandate, which the so-called erstwhile public representatives seized unlawfully, had expired tonight.

“These millions of change-seekers here have rejected their ill-gotten mandate. They are no more their representatives”, Qadri added.

He asked the Prime Minister to advise the President to dissolve the assemblies and the chief ministers of the four provinces to forward the same advice to their respective governors.

The influential and moderate cleric, who runs an educational and religious organization with networks all over the world, only returned to Pakistan last month from years spent living in Canada, where he also has citizenship.

His demand for the military to have a say in a caretaker administration has been seen by critics as a ploy by elements of the establishment, particularly the military, to delay elections and sow political chaos.

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Posted by Web Desk on Jan 15 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.