Clashes with PAT workers leave 73 policemen injured

ISLAMABAD: At least 73 policeman were injured in clashes with Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) supporters in the twin cities of Islamabad early Monday morning. The clashes occurred ahead of Tahir ul Qadri's return to Pakistan to lead what he has called an anti-government "revolution".

Dr Tahirul Qadri, who drew tens of thousands of supporters to a sit-in protest in Islamabad in January last year, was due to arrive a week after ten people were killed in a previous clash with the police in Lahore.

Several security men belonging to Islamabad, Punjab and Azad Kashmir Police sustained injuries in the encounters with PAT supporters that broke out late on Sunday night in the adjoining areas of Islamabad airport.

The PAT workers also attacked the Koral police station and injured many policemen. Many others sustained injuries when the enraged activists of PAT pelted them with stones and used batons.

Many policemen suffered fractures and serious head injuries who were later shifted to different hospitals. Hospital sources told that 40 injured security personnel were brought to Poly Clinic, 11 to PIMS and 27 to DHQ Hospital, Rawalpindi.

More than 20 policemen were discharged after providing them the first aid, however, the remaining injured personnel are currently being treated at the emergency unit of the mentioned hospitals.

Police fail to get remand of 44 PAT workers

LAHORE: An anti-terrorism court declined a request by the police to secure physical remand of 44 PAT workers and instead sent them to jail on 14-day judicial remand.

They are facing charges of attacking the police and pelting stones at the police, which was carrying out an operation to remove the barriers outside the MQI Secretariat in Model Town.As the proceedings started, the police produced 51 accused before ATC Judge Khalid Mahmood Ranjha and sought physical remand of 44 of them. They also requested for deletion of the name of eight workers from the FIR registered against them under Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act. The judge, however, rejected the request and sent them to jail on judicial remand.

The accused whose names were removed from the FIR included Yameen, Hanif, Akram, Sakhi, Mujahid Hussain, Sheron and Haroon.Meanwhile, the bail applications were submitted for all the accused sent on judicial remand after which the court issued notices to the state for June 21.

Meanwhile, Chaudhry Saalik Hussain – the son of PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain – called on Dr Tahirul Qadri’s son Hussain Mohiuddin and condoled the deaths of innocent party workers. Later, the PML-Q delegation attended the funeral prayers of another MQI worker who succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital earlier in the day, bringing the death toll to 10.

Online adds: The police on Thursday declared the main suspect nominated in the case innocent due to lack of evidence, just a day after they registered a first information report (FIR) against the activists of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) for the deadly clash in Lahore.

Hussain Mohiuddin, son of Dr Tahirul Qadri, was nominated as the main accused in the FIR lodged on the complaint of Faisal Town SHO Rizwan Qadir Hashmi.The bloodshed took place outside the Central Secretariat of Minhajul Quran International in the Model Town on June 17. As many as nine people, including two women, were killed in the clash and dozens of others were injured.

According to the FIR, the police blamed the PAT workers and the leadership for the deadly melee outside the residence of Qadri. The other accused include PAT General Secretary Khurram Nawaz Gandapur and Chief Security Officer Altaf Hussain Shah. Eight unidentified gunmen and 3,000-plus activists of the PAT have also been nominated in the FIR.

PTI, PAT, PML-Q leaders may form alliance

 

LONDON: Leaders of three parties have gathered in London giving rise to speculation that the stage is being prepared for an anti-government alliance between the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Pakistan Muslim League-Q.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Muslim League leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain arrived in London on Wednesday afternoon almost at the same time.

The PML-Q as a political unit has no presence in Britain because all the units defected to the PML-N but an aide of Chaudhry Shujaat said that Chaudhry was in contact with Imran Khan’s party and during his stay in London would like to meet Altaf Hussain as well.

He said a meeting with Dr Qadri and Imran Khan was on the cards but didn’t say when and where. He said the PML-Q will join any party that supports mid-term elections and ouster of the current government.

Speaking to ‘The News’ late on Thursday evening, PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat confirmed that he will be meeting Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri along with his party delegation.

He said: “We have deep relations with each other and we will be meeting Dr Qadri. Our agenda is one point: betterment of Pakistan and empowerment of democracy. We agree with each other that the current government has failed and new alliances need to be made. We will release more details tomorrow after the meeting.”

On Thursday afternoon, PAT leader Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri also reached London unannounced. It’s the timing of Dr Qadri’s arrival that is of importance because the PAT sources had earlier said that he would be arriving here in the second week of June.

His party spokesman said that Dr Qadri had arrived in London for “medical check-up” although Dr Qadri himself has said that he prefers to live in Toronto, Canada, for medical reasons. A senior leader of PAT confirmed in a twitter message that PTI, PAT and PML-Q chiefs will “finalise anti-govt strategies in London” but later on retracted it.

When contacted by the News, a PAT source said that a meeting was likely and the three parties were in contact but “nothing is finalised yet”.

Dr Qadri was scheduled to reach London in June from Toronto and then fly out from here to Pakistan for what’s now called the “Shahadat Proof Bunker Dherna” but his sudden arrival in London means that he was asked to arrive for talks while the like-minded leaders were also around.

The PAT source said that all the three parties agreed on the need to launch a movement against the PML-N government. “The mandate of this government is fake and it needs to be ousted. We are contacting all the parties in this regard.”

A PTI source said that Imran Khan was in London to spend time with his two sons and “also to attend a fundraiser for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital on Saturday”. He didn’t deny that a meeting might take place between the three parties.

Some sources have said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will also be taken into confidence and Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri will lead the efforts to bring the MQM on board.

“Dr Qadri is very close to the MQM and Altaf Hussain is his key supporter and has supported Dr Qadri whenever his campaign related to Punjab where both have a common enemy in the shape of the PML-N. Imran Khan and Shujaat also have the same agenda against the PML-N. Their alliance is natural. They have been once key allies of Pervez Musharraf and all of them benefitted from Musharraf in one way or the other. Pervez Musharraf needs them more than ever. This government needs to be brought under pressure to provide an exit route to Musharraf and that will happen when there is a grand opposition alliance in place as a cover,” said a source familiar with the London developments.

The MQM will have no issue giving its support to an opposition alliance as far as it concerns agitation in Punjab and in any case a movement against the PML-N government only benefits the MQM.Reports said that Chaudary Pervaiz Elahi has also been called to London.