Public property vandalised, cops and lawyers beaten up

SIC leader escapes baton attack from a protester

LAHORE: Leaders of Sunni Ittehad Council and some other religious groups escaped injury at a demonstration held on Friday at Charing Cross against the hanging of Mumtaz Qadri, self confessed killer of Punjab governor Salman Taseer, when some charged protesters attacked one of the leaders with batons.

Earlier, charged protesters beat up some policemen and lawyers, damaged a security check post at the Assembly chambers and a DSNG vehicle of a private television channel and removed the provincial government’s advertisements from along The Mall during a rally from Data Darbar to Charing Cross.

The rally was led by Sunni Tehrik Lahore leader Mujahid Abdul Rasool and Sunni Ittehad Council leaders Razai Mustafa Naqashbandi and Muhammad Ali Naqshbandi.

When the rally started at Data Darbar, some protesters went ahead of the procession and started throwing stones towards the Lower Mall police station, damaging a signboard installed at the entrance. Some protesters beat up a police team and three lawyers near PMG Chowk. The lawyers were on a motorbike and were trying to drive away from the procession when they were attacked. The protesters, next, removed government-sponsored posters and banners from along The Mall, damaged a check post at the Punjab Assembly and a vehicle of a private television channel.

At the demonstration, some people in the crowd heckled Allama Ahmed Ali Kasuri telling him to leave the official Quran Board for them to be prepared to hear him. They chanted slogans against him and did not let him deliver a speech. The slogan chanting continued as a baton wielding man attacked Razai Mustafa. Mustafa and some other leaders rushed towards their vehicle parked nearby and escaped. They had already delivered their speeches.

Meanwhile, the protesters were joined by the Idara Sirat-i-Mustaqeem’s (ISM) rally led by Ashraf Asif Jalali. The ISM rally had also started at the Data Darbar but taken a different route to reach Charing Cross. Allama Khadim Husain Rizvi of the Anjuman Fidayeen-i-Mustafa also came there with the rally.

Speaking to the protesters, Rizvi said demonstrations would be held on every Thursday till March 27, when a joint delegation of would leave for Rawalpindi to attend a chehlum gathering for Qadri. He urged the participants to continue holding the rallies even if he and Jalali were unable to join them. He urged them to postpone all other commitments and prioritise these protestes. Rizvi said some traders from the Sarafa Bazaar had assured him of full financial support for the protests. Addressing the Sarafa Bazaar jewellers, he said if they could manage it they should gift Qadri’s father his weight in gold. He also cautioned them to not pay any donation for the protests till they received a request for it from the central leadership of the parties.

Without incident: Police ensure peaceful passage of tense Friday

Over 7,000 policemen were deployed on Friday to maintain order as protest demonstrations over the hanging of former governor Salmaan Taseer’s self-confessed assassin Mumtaz Qadri were held at The Mall and in Shahdara area.

Security SSP Liaquat Malik said securing citizens’ lives and properties constituted the crux of the force’s security plan. He said police had also strived to ensure protestors’ safety. Malik said police had tasted success on both accounts.

The SSP said heavy police contingents had been deployed across sensitive locations to secure public and private properties there. He said owners of banks and businesses in the area had been requested to close shop at the time of the rallies. Malik said police had taken special measures to ensure foolproof security across vital installations. This, he said, included placing barriers and barbed wire across venues like district courts, the office of the operations DIG, the Aiwan-i-Adl, the Supreme Court’s Lahore Registry, Lahore High Court (LHC), The State Bank of Pakistan building and the Provincial Assembly (PA).

Malik said senior police officials had also stayed in constant touch with those leading the demonstrations. He said the two-way flow of communication was ensured particularly. Malik said police had refrained from using force to stop those protesting in a bid to prevent them from resorting to vandalism.

The SSP said those wanting to join the demonstrations were only allowed to do so after being frisked and passing through walkthrough gates. He said police teams monitored the protests from the time they commenced till the time they concluded. Speaking about isolated incidents of vandalism, such as the attack on a satellite van belonging to a media outlet and one on a police post at the Assembly Chambers, Malik said police had been ordered not to retaliate. He said policemen had been ordered to not retaliate and resist as such a move could aggravate tensions. Malik said things could have gone out of control had the protestors been presented with any excuse to take recourse to violence.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2016.