Court verdict: Police on high alert as govt scents trouble

Following religious groups, political parties also express support for Qadri.

ISLAMABAD: The police were put on high alert on Sunday to counter possible riots following the death sentence imposed on Mumtaz Qadri. Over the weekend several right-wing political parties and religious groups rallied against the verdict to hang Qadri and some of them have threatened further protests.

An anti-terror court delivered the judgment in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Qadri was convicted of murder and terrorism for shooting dead Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer in January. The self-confessed assassin said he was driven by religious beliefs to kill the governor.

Officials in law enforcement agencies said the police were alerted after intelligence suggested that organisations such as Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), an umbrella outfit for several dozen Barelvi outfits, were planning protests that may turn violent, especially in Punjab.

“We are expecting some serious trouble. Police will be on high alert to fight them,” a senior police official in Islamabad told The Express Tribune.

Another official in Punjab said the police had been given anti-riot equipment to take on protesters and their reserve units were prepared for action. Protests took place on Sunday in parts of Rawalpindi, Islamabad and in some cities in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The Inspector General of Police Punjab sent a circular to police officers throughout the province calling for strict security arrangements to ensure protests were contained and managed.

In Islamabad, according to police, protesters blocked traffic at multiple points on Benazir (Murree) Road and thrashed buildings. No arrests were made, however. In Karachi, several dozen activists from Sunni Tehreek (ST), a Barelvi group, rallied in front of the press club.

(With additional reporting by Asad Kharal in Lahore and Z Ali in Hyderabad)

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2011.