TLYRA supporters shout slogans during rain. PHOTO:AFP
Attempts by the government to convince the protesters to wind up the sit-in also seemed to wash off as did a clash with police officials.
Due to the closure of Faizabad — the main link between the twin cities — several other small link roads remained choked with bumper-to-bumper traffic for almost the entire day.
Around 2,000 protesters led by firebrand cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi have kept Faizabad blocked since November 8, agitating over a slight amendment in the Khatm-e-Nabuwat clause.
The government and Islamabad’s authorities on Tuesday warned and requested organisers of the protest to wind up their sit-in and open the roads, but to no avail.
Addressing a news conference on Tuesday, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said the government was trying to resolve the issue through negotiations, but he warned the protesters that the government and the public’s patience was running out.
“The government has the ability to remove these protesters [by force] and open the roads but we want to resolve the matter through talks. If the issue is not resolved through talks, they will have to open the roads because the blockade is becoming unbearable,” said Chaudhry.
The protesters meanwhile braved rain and cold to continue their sit-in on Tuesday. They continued chanting slogans and listening speeches blaring from the speakers through the rain.
The protest leaders said the rain would not dampen their spirits. The protesters too were unwilling to settle for anything less than the suspension of the law minister.
Meanwhile, Islamabad Police Inspector General Khalid Khattak has assured lawmakers that the Faizabad blockade will be resolved within the next few days.
Briefing the Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday, Khattak said law-enforcers were showing restraint against the protesters.
“The protesters want to engage us but we are showing restraint. It is a sensitive issue. Hopefully, the issue will be resolved in the next two to three days,” the IGP said without sharing further details.
Earlier in the day, there were reports of a scuffle between the police and the protesters which left a couple of policemen from the Sector I-9 police station injured. Officials said that they had arrested around a dozen protesters.
Moreover, in the Punjab, dozens of activists of the group have been arrested.
“The Punjab government has detained dozens of Tehreek-e-Labaik’s activists from various districts,” said a spokesperson for the Punjab provincial government Malik Ahmed Khan.
Lawyer seeks judicial intervention
A lawyer has approached the Islamabad High Court seeking the court’s intervention in ending the Faizabad blockade.
Advocate Rana Abdul Qayyum has requested the court to direct Islamabad Police and the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration to enforce the writ of the law and take action against delinquent protesters for blocking the roads. He has also sought that the protest is relocated to the designated protest site, Parade Ground.
The court is likely to take up the petition on Wednesday.
WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM REUTERS
Published in The Express Tribune, November 15th, 2017.
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