An MQI activist shows the shell of a bullet allegedly fired by the police (top left); activists throw stones at policemen at Jinnah Avenue. PHOTO: NNI
Three of the four policemen injured in stone pelting by protesters early on Tuesday morning were discharged after being treated. The fourth policeman, Bhara Kahu SHO Mehboob Ali, who received a head injury, was still admitted at the Polyclinic Hospital when last reports came in.
Throughout the day, about 25 members of the rally were brought to the hospital, experience high fever and exhibiting symptoms of flu. The people — including an eight-month-old baby — got sick over night in the chilly Islamabad weather, as temperature fell to as low as 8 degrees Celsius.
According to doctors on duty, the patients started coming to the hospital emergency ward after 4pm and were discharged after being given medicine.
Earlier in the day, before Tahirul Qadri’s address praising the Supreme Court’s decision to order Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf’s arrest, a group of elite police force surrounded Qadri’s truck and tried to “kidnap” him, Minhajul Quran International (MQI) General Secretary Raheq Abbasi said.
But they were stopped by Qadri’s supporters, especially women, before they could reach them, said Abbasi.
The episode happened around 11am in the morning, as the deadline given by Qadri to the government to resign approached. An AFP reporter saw police fire teargas shells at the crowd, after protesters brandishing sticks pelted stones at police around 500 metres from the parliament.
Demonstrators smashed vehicle windows as they continued their march and reached the edge of the Red Zone, which houses parliament, Supreme Court, Diplomatic Enclave and other key buildings.
Gunshots were heard, though it was unclear who fired them. Both protesters and the authorities accused each other.
Qadri spokesman Shahid Mursaleen accused police of opening fire. “They opened fire on Dr Tahirul Qadri’s car and tried to smash the windows,” he said.
Another march organiser, Muzamil Ahmed Khan, accused the authorities of trying to provoke them into violence. “We were peaceful, we want to be peaceful, police fired tear gas and gunshots without any reason,” Khan said.
An MQI activist shows the shell of a bullet allegedly fired by the police (top left); activists throw stones at policemen at Jinnah Avenue. PHOTO: NNI
But Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the protesters were carrying weapons and had opened fire on police. He accused Qadri of “bulldozing” an agreement with the authorities for a peaceful rally.
Islamabad Capital Territory Chief Commissioner Tariq Mehmood Pirzada said the clash was the result of a misunderstanding and he has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
Qadri, who runs an educational and religious organisation with networks all over the world, returned to Pakistan last month from years spent living in Canada, where he also has citizenship.
His supporters say his calls to end corruption and implement reforms could be the solution to endless problems in Pakistan, brought to the brink by a weak economy, crippling energy crisis and Islamist violence.
Qadri wants a caretaker government set up in consultation with the military and judiciary when parliament disbands in mid-March, and is calling for reform so that “honest people” can be elected at polls due by mid-May.
If held on schedule, the election will mark the first democratic transition of power between two civilian governments in Pakistan’s 65-year history, which has been marked by bloodless coups and extensive periods of military rule.
*With input from AFP
Published in The Express Tribune, January 16th, 2013.
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