Islamabad: A radical Islamist party, whose tens of thousands of supporters are camping on the way to Islamabad, on Sunday gave a two-day deadline to the Pakistan government to release their party chief and expel the French ambassador or face sit-in the national capital.
After talks with the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Sunday that the protesting Islamists will not march on Islamabad as detained TLP workers will be released.
“Under an agreement signed with the TLP earlier, the issue of expelling the French ambassador will be taken to parliament for debate,” said the minister, who held talks with both a TLP delegation and jailed TLP chief Saad Hussain Rizvi at Kot Lakhpat Jail here.
“About 10,000 Islamists are camping from Muridke to Gujranwala (on G T Road), some 80 kms from Lahore. They are waiting a signal from their leadership to march on the capital,” a Punjab government official told news agency.
“At present, the protesters are told to stay there for a couple of more days as the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government has promised to release their leader (Rizvi) and take steps with regard to French envoy’s expulsion over blasphemous cartoons by Tuesday,” the official said.
In a statement issued to the media, TLP said: “The government has sought time from us till Tuesday to implement the agreement with us (to expel French envoy) and release of our leaders and workers including the party chief Saad Rizvi. Besides, the government will quash all illegal FIRs against our workers and leaders. Our protest march will only end after acceptance of our demands.”
On Saturday, the TLP supporters had managed to bulldoze all security layers of police after fierce clashes and entered Gujranwala limits. Three policemen and seven TLP workers have died in the clashes so far that erupted on Wednesday. However, no clashes took place on Sunday as the talks were held between the government and TLP delegation.