Nawaz Sharif ready to face murder charges, Tahir-ul-Qadri rejects offer

Islamabad: In a bid to defuse Pakistan’s political crisis, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today agreed to face a case of murder of 14 supporters of cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri who rejected it saying terror charges should also be slapped on the Premier. Police in Lahore finally registered the murder case against Prime Minister Sharif, his brother and Punjab province Chief Minister Shahbaz, key Cabinet ministers and senior officials for their alleged role in the killing of Qadri’s supporters in the Model Town area, meeting a major demand of the fiery cleric. [caption id=“attachment_1687015” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Nawaz Sharif. AFP[/caption] “The FIR has been registered on the order of the Lahore High Court (LHC),” Punjab police spokesperson Nabila Ghazanfar told PTI. She said the FIR had been registered on PAT’s application. However, the cleric was not satisfied with the government’s concession, saying “I do not accept this FIR, until the Terrorism Act is included in it.” For the second time in three days, Pakistan’s powerful Army Chief Raheel Sharif today met the Prime Minister to discuss the over two weeks-long political turmoil. The Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) discussed security matters and uncertainty created by the ongoing protests in the country, sources said. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Qadri have snapped communications with the official negotiators after the fifth round of talks failed to produce any result last night. Qadri termed supporters of PTI and his party as first cousins. He said that he and PTI Chairman Khan were brothers. “Today is the day to get freedom from economic and social exploitation. More than 100 million poor of this country are slaves of this corrupt and unjust system,” the PAT chief said. “Our rulers have money when it comes to corruption, buying journalists and anchorpersons and living a lavish life style… but, there is no money to resolve issues concerning poor masses of the country,” Qadri said. Khan continued to demand Sharif’s resignation, saying “I will not leave. I will not accept this monarchy. I want real democracy.” “It has been decided that an FIR will be registered against Shahbaz Sharif, but he has decided that he will not resign,” he said. Amid mounting pressure from the protesters, Sharif chaired a high-level meeting in the capital to discuss the current political crisis, media reports said. It was decided in the meeting that neither the premier nor Chief Minister Punjab province Shahbaz will step down and the federal and provincial assemblies will also not be dissolved, Dawn News reported. During the meeting, Sharif also said he along with other ministers named in the FIR, will extend full cooperation in investigations into the Model Town incident. The Lahore Sessions Court hearing the case related to the clashes had ordered police to register a murder case earlier this month against 21 persons named by the Qadri-led PAT in its complaint. Pakistani police, however, had earlier refused toregister the murder case against Prime Minister Sharif, his brother and Punjab province Chief Minister Shahbaz and some top Cabinet ministers despite the court order on framing of charges. The court had ordered the registration of a murder case against Sharif, Shahbaz, his nephew Hamza Shahbaz, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Railways Minister Rafique, Information Minister Rashid, State Minister Abid Sher Ali (also a relative of the Sharif), Punjab former law minister Rana Sanaullah and top police officers who took part in the “barricades removal operation”. Qadri has also demanded that after the registration of the case, both Sharif brothers should resign. Political stalemate has continued for the last two weeks with Khan-led PTI and Qadri’s PAT refusing to budge from their demand of the Prime Minister’s resignation over allegations of rigging in last year’s general election and killing of 14 PAT supporters in Lahore on June 17. The protesters have been sitting in front of the Parliament House and the Supreme Court building since 19 August, demanding Sharif’s resignation. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today distanced itself from the politics of sit-ins while hearing a case related to the protests on the Constitution Avenue. During the hearing, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said the matter was not about Constitution Avenue, but about the Constitution itself. When the issue of unconstitutional actions of the protesters was raised, the court distanced itself from the politics of sit-ins and remarked that the court’s responsibility is to ensure the protection of the Constitution. A Supreme Court committee visited the sit-in venue yesterday to verify whether its earlier order to vacate the premises had been implemented. The apex court had asked the protesting parties to submit a response for failing to comply with its order. Sharif also cancelled today’s planned visit to Turkey to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Tayyab Erdogan who has won the presidential polls. Now president Mamnoon Hussain will represent Pakistan there. PTI