Violence flared in several towns and cities in Pakistan on Saturday between police and supporters of an anti-government cleric, killing at least four people and injuring scores, police and witnesses said. Qadri called off a large protest rally planned in Lahore on Sunday. Following a police crackdown, he urged supporters to hold smaller protests in their home towns instead.
"Pick up the bodies of the martyred and keep the bodies of the injured before you - but protest peacefully," Qadri said in a televised address. "The government wants a massacre in the name of a crackdown." The violence, which started on Friday, exacerbated tensions ahead of the Lahore demonstration. Qadri had planned to protest against deadly clashes between his supporters and police in June.
He has also condemned the government as corrupt and called for the overthrow of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. A separate protest, led by opposition politician Imran Khan, is planned for the capital on Thursday to protest alleged election irregularities. He has also called for the government to go.
Some members of the ruling party fear the protesters may be getting support from elements in the powerful military. Security was tight in Lahore on Saturday with police manning checkpoints throughout the eastern city, the home town of both Qadri and the prime minister, and the capital of Punjab, the country's richest province. Around 500 Qadri supporters had been arrested, said Nabeela Ghazanfar, the provincial police spokeswoman, and more than 100 police injured. The paramilitary Rangers force patrolled the streets. Rahiq Abbassi, a spokesman for Qadri, said more than a hundred of their supporters were also injured and denied they had attacked the police.
In several parts of Punjab, police tried to block Qadri's supporters from travelling to Lahore, sparking confrontations and violence, police and witnesses said. Two men and a woman were killed in the district of Gujranwala, said deputy inspector general of police Saad Bahrwana. Shopkeeper Muhammad Hussain said those clashes began when police tried to stop Qadri supporters from travelling to Lahore.
Another man was shot dead during clashes between Qadri supporters and police in the town of Bhakkar, 320 km south-west of the capital, said a doctor. Police said a police station had been burnt down and dozens of weapons seized in the central town of Qaidabad.
Musharraf deposed Sharif, in a coup in 1999 but was forced to step down in 2008. Sharif returned from exile shortly afterwards and won a landslide victory in last year's polls. There was also disagreement between the government and the army on how to handle militants attacking the state, with the army favouring military action and the government holding out hope for peace talks. The army eventually won the argument and launched an offensive in June.-Reuters
Our reporter from Lahore adds: A 34-year-old constable of Elite police, Muhammad Fayyaz, son of Ghulam Rasool, was killed during a clash between workers of Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) and police. According to police officials, 130 police officers sustained injuries, 22 policemen were made hostage during the clash, while many policemen have been missing. PAT workers also damaged police stations, vehicles, besides setting official record on fire, they added.
A spokesman for Punjab police said that the PAT workers used nail-studded sticks, slings, stones, knives and other weapons in their attacks on police officials on duty. DPO Gujranwala, Waqas Nazir, DSP Rashid Sindhu, Rana Shafique, DSP Abid Ghani, Inspector Ghazanfar, Inspector Khadim, Safdar, SI Irshad Hussain, SI Riaz Hussain, SI Ahmad Shabbir and T/ASI Nasir sustained serious injuries. Besides, other policemen injured in the clashes include nine in Lahore, 55 in Gujranwala, one in Okara, 25 in Bhakkar, 14 in Jhang, 13 in Rawalpindi regions, nine in Sargodha and four in Toba Tek Singh, the spokesman said. Meanwhile, a team of RPO Sargodha rescued 15 hostages from the clutches of PAT workers at Bhera interchange. The hostages with their broken limbs are in critical state and they have been admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) of Bhalwal Hospital and DHQ Sargodha, the spokesman added.
The names of the police officials who have been rescued are: Assistant Inspectors Arshad Mehmood, Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Ikram, Mujtaba; head constables Amjad Iqbal, Zulfiqar Ali, Muhammad Liaquat, Muhammad Umair Ali, Fakhar Abad, Ansar Abbas, Shehzad Pervaiz and constables Fayyaz, Mumtaz Haider, Nadeem Akram and Tariq.
NNI adds: Qadri ordered his party workers to reach Lahore at all costs. Earlier, Qadri had directed his workers: "Stay where you are, observe Youm-e-Shohada right there, no need to shed more blood".