ISLAMABAD, March 29: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced on Tuesday that the government will clear the D-Chowk of protesters on Wednesday “at any cost”, if they don’t disperse by themselves in the night.
If the protest doesn’t end in the next one hour, “then instead of doing anything in the night we will clear the Red Zone in the morning”.
The Islamabad district administration had issued pro-Qadri protesters gathered outside Parliament House a two-hour notice to disperse.
The legal notice was issued to the religious leaders gathered at D-Chowk by the district magistrate, a copy of which is available with DawnNews. It accused them of attempting “to frustrate the government’s drive against terrorism”.
Around 700 pro-Mumtaz Qadri protesters continued to protest in Islamabad’s Red Zone on Tuesday, police official Mohammad Kashif confirmed, despite warnings from the government, bringing the most sensitive parts of the capital to a standstill.
“An operation will be conducted if the participants of dharna (sit-in) do not disperse in a few hours,” a security official said.
“Leaders of the protesters have been given a notice in this regard,” he said, adding that they had been given two hours to disperse.
If they do not, he said, “law enforcement agencies shall take action” by removing them.
Heavy contingents of FC, Rangers and Islamabad police have surrounded the Red Zone, sources reported.
However, reports on local media indicate last-minute negotiations are underway between government representatives and leaders of religious parties to reach an amicable solution.-Agencies
