Nisar vows to clear D-Chowk of protesters tomorrow

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday night, Nisar blasted the occupiers saying that it was not a protest, but a gathering is being held outside the Parliament. He said that some ‘seniors’ have come from Karachi and if things didn’t settle down, then the D-Chowk will be cleared within an hour tomorrow.

The minister said that the government did not want to take action in the dark of night, however, tomorrow the D-Chowk will finally be vacated.

He urged media to be present at the time of a clearance operation at D-Chowk, so that no one could put a blame on the government, assuring that none of the security personnel will be armed.

“Punjab government was satisfied that the masses will gather to attend the chehlum of Mumtaz Qadri and will disperse peacefully after prayers,” he noted. “The government allowed them to hold gathering on this very assurance.”

“But, a few elements did not keep their word and tried to play politics on the pretext of chehlum,” he lamented.

He also claimed to have admonished the administration for letting the masses ‘humiliate the writ of the government’.

Earlier, the administration gave a two-hour deadline to protesters for clearing the D-Chowk, warning that the use of force will become inevitable if they did not adhere to the instructions.

In a written order, the administration asked the pro-Mumtaz Qadri demonstrators, who have been holding a protest sit-in outside the Parliament House for two day, to vacate the venue or it will become inevitable for the authorities to use force them out.

Nearly 7000 personnel of the police, Frontier Corps (FC) and Punjab constabulary in riot gear have readied to deal with any kind of situation.

On the other hand, leaders at the sit-in have announced through loudspeakers that they are prepared and will respond fully to any action.

According to details, the important decision was taken by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the meeting he chaired today. The operation will take place tonight and it has been decided that law enforcement personnel will expel protesters by dispersing them from D-Chowk. Police and Rangers personnel have also been alerted and deployed at the Red Zone.

Mumtaz Qadri loyalists have been staging a sit-in protest at the Red Zone. Activists of religious parties have surrounded and besieged the parliament and presented a charter of demands before the government. Today is the third day of the protest, which began on Sunday when violent activists clashed with police to reach the parliament.

In certain parts of Islamabad, mobile phone services remained suspended today due to the fragile law and order situation. The Metro Bus service was also suspended in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad due to the on-going protests.