President Asif Zardari has snubbed announcements being made by Interior Minister Rehman Malik of a operation against Dr Tahirul Qadri’s sit-in in Islamabad if the participants did not vacate D-Chowk by tomorrow.
According to TV reports, Zardari assured the nation that the government would not conduct any operation against the sit-in participants. He said that Malik was issuing such warnings on his own.
Major coalition partners, MQM chief Altaf Hussain and PML-Q’s Chaudhry Shujaat were also opposed to the idea. PTI chief Imran had also warned of opposing any such action on peaceful protesters.
Earlier, the government was seriously contemplating a strategy to wrap up the Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran (TMA) sit-in in Islamabad and arrest Dr Tahirul Qadri, who Interior Minister Rehman Malik said was using thousands of his followers as a shield.
The arrest of Qadri and 21 of his close aides would be made possible on the basis of an FIR in Kohsar Police Station on charges of thrashing police, worsening law and order, interference in the affairs of the state and attempted murder.
Sources said Malik consulted with his close confidants in the Interior Ministry and some senior police officials about the plan to arrest Qadri, and put an end to the sit-in to restore normalcy to the federal capital.
The major irritant for the planners was the presence of huge crowd and large number of guards surrounding Qadri’s container.
They were of the view that a botched sting operation could lead to a mass scale confrontation between the law enforcement agencies and Qadri’s followers.
The sources said the Interior Ministry had asked senior police officials and bureaucrats to devise a strategy leading to the arrest of the TMQ chief without indulging in any confrontation.
The officials were also contemplating an intricate plan to make possible Qadri’s arrest by air lifting him through helicopter, however, this plan was given less consideration as the TMQ chief has confined himself in a fortified container.
On Tuesday, a senior police officer and 25 policemen tried to take away Tahirul Qadri by overpowering the driver of his container.
However, they failed to arrest him despite taking the control of his vehicle. This led to a clash between the police and Qadri’s followers in which aerial fire and tear gas were also used.