The All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran has warned Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Chairman Tahir-ul Qadri and his political allies that traders' community of the city will pelt protesters with stones if Qadri did not reschedule his "political rally" to some other place and tried to march towards The Mall on January 17. "If Tahir-ul-Qadri did not reschedule his announced rally or sit-in on The Mall, the traders' community would throw stones on the protestors of the rally or sit-in," warned All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran General Secretary Naeem Mir while addressing a press conference here at the Lahore Press Club on Monday.
He said Justice Shahid Kareem of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday adjourned hearing of a petition filed by a citizen till January 20, seeking direction from the court to refrain Qadri from holding the rally on The Mall. "What will be the significance of accepting this petition when the decision is not made before 17th Jan?" he questioned. In this context, he said they have decided to move a petition in the LHC on January 16 (today) against the Punjab government to restrain Tahir-ul-Qadri from committing contempt of court and holding protest rally on The Mall on January 17. Earlier, he said the Punjab Home Department had submitted an affidavit before the LHC in which they had assured that no protest rallies or sit-ins would be held on The Mall in future. He also requested the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and all media organizations to not provide coverage to Qadri.
Later, Mir said the LHC passed an order by clarifying that the right of living is dominant upon the right of speech and also imposed a complete ban on all protest rallies or sit-ins on The Mall. However, the order of the court is yet to be implemented in its true spirit, he regretted. He also appealed the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) to take suo motu notice of this contempt and direct the LHC to accept their petition on emergency basis so that a complete ban on The Mall could be implemented in its true spirit. Taking very strict stance, he said, the CJP, who is very active in taking notices of bad condition of hospitals, adulteration of water and milk and high fee structure of private medical colleges and other public welfare matters, should also take action against the non-implementation of his own court's rulings.
"In view of Article-18 of the Constitution, every citizen has equal right of freedom of trade and business and creating disturbance and hurdles in their business activities is a crime," he asserted. Despite the fact that Mall Road had been declared as red zone area of the city, Dr Qadri is all set to come to this place to protest against the government. He apprehended that the rally would force the traders to close their business activities in and around markets of Mall Road, Bidon Road, Hall Road, M'clod Road and Panorama Centre etc while the closure of GPO Chowk has already affected their businesses due to the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT project. He termed Tahir-ul-Qadri a remote control toy who starts protests whenever he is directed.
Responding to a query, he said the traders' community was ready to initiate dialogue with other stakeholders, but Dr Qadri did not try to listen to their grievances. To another query, he said they were ready to cooperate with the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) over the issue of Model Town killing in which many supporters of Qadri were killed.
Answering another question, he held Justice Baqir Najfi responsible for current political instability in the province, saying Baqir in his inquiry report had not fixed responsibility on any individual which created an uncertain wave among political circles.