Islamabad Police on Friday registered two more cases against Khadim Hussain Rizvi who is leading Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) protesters in the federal capital. He has already been booked for the death of a child, who passed away after the ambulance taking him to a hospital was blocked by the protesters. Pir Aijaz Afzal and other leaders and participants of the Islamabad sit-in protest have also been nominated in two FIRs lodged by staffers of a private television channel.
According to the FIR, the media team was attacked, tortured and threatened; their vehicles were smashed, and the protesters also snatched their cameras. The second case was lodged on the complaint of Magistrate Ghulam Murtaza Chandio for violation of Section 144 by the protesters, along with other charges. Both the cases were registered at the I-9 Police Station, Islamabad.
On the other hand, leaders of the rally are sticking with their demand that first the government remove Law Minister Zahid Hamid from his position before starting any dialogue. Addressing the participants of the rally, Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi said that they should be ready for all sorts of treatment and hardships as they would not return without getting the resignation of the law minister and fulfillment of other demands.
He said that all his followers are ready to sacrifice their lives for the honor of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), adding that the government must expose those involved in making changes in the electoral law regarding Khatm-e-Nabuwwat (Finality of Prophet hood). On the third consecutive day, huge traffic jams was witnessed on alternate routes suggested by the traffic police in the twin cities due to limiting the participants from marching ahead to the federal capital.
The TLYR march started from Lahore to protest the changes made in the Khatm-e-Nabuwwat declaration in electoral forms. The rally is led by Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi. The district administrations of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have chalked out a plan to avert any untoward incident and block the entry of the rally in the federal capital, especially in the Red Zone.
Heavy contingents of police, Rangers and Frontier Constabulary have been deployed in the Red Zone as well as various other parts of the city. The district administration has put all hospitals in the federal capital on high alert. On Thursday, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal categorically said that Law Minister Zahid Hamid will not resign from his position in response to demand of the long march participants.
He also clarified that Zahid Hamid has not done any thing wrong to resign from post, adding that the rally has disrupted life of citizens in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. "It is not any service to Islam to make the life of people difficult," the minister said.