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7 Killed as Pakistan Police Clash With Preacher’s Followers 7 Killed as Pakistan Police Clash With Preacher’s Followers
(about 4 hours later)
LAHORE, Pakistan — At least seven people were killed and about 100 injured in Lahore early Tuesday after violent clashes between the police and followers of Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri, a fiery preacher turned political activist who has called for a mass movement against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. LAHORE, Pakistan — At least seven people were killed and about 100 injured in Lahore in violent clashes between the police and followers of Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a fiery preacher turned political activist who has called for a mass movement against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The clashes erupted around midnight Monday, when large contingents of officers reached the headquarters of Awami Tehreek, Mr. Qadri’s party, and demanded the removal of barricades on roads leading to the headquarters and Mr. Qadri’s residence, calling them illegal. The barricades were set up four years ago after Mr. Qadri issued a decree against the Taliban and received death threats from the militants. It was the deadliest political confrontation in Lahore, Mr. Sharif’s hometown, since a short-lived but turbulent period of emergency rule under the military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf in late 2007. And it came at a critical time for Mr. Sharif, who is marshaling public support as the army embarks on a perilous offensive against the Taliban in the tribal district of North Waziristan.
Workers for the party resisted the police demands and the situation turned violent. On Tuesday morning, the police called for reinforcements, including heavy machinery, bulldozers and armored vehicles, to disperse Mr. Qadri’s supporters. Several women and men lay down in front of barriers on the road, challenging the police to run the bulldozers over them. The clashes started about midnight on Monday, when a large contingent of police officers reached the headquarters of the Pakistan Awami Tehrik, Mr. Qadri’s party, and demanded that his supporters remove barricades outside the office and an adjoining residence that they called illegal.
The police used tear gas and batons against charging protesters before firing bullets into the air to disperse the crowd. Businesses in nearby commercial areas quickly shut down as Model Town, the residential neighborhood around the party’s headquarters, became a battle zone. The barricades were set up four years ago after Mr. Qadri, who is in Canada but is said to be returning to Pakistan on Monday, ,issued a decree against the Taliban and received death threats from the militants.
The dead included at least five men and two women, according to workers at Jinnah Hospital. The chief minister of Punjab Province, Shahbaz Sharif, said at a news conference that eight people had been killed and 97 injured. Mr. Qadri’s supporters resisted the police demands and the situation turned violent, with clashes through the night. By morning police reinforcements, including bulldozers and armored vehicles, had arrived to disperse the crowd. Several women and men lay down in front of barriers on the road, challenging the police to run the bulldozer over them.
Chaudhry Shafique, the Lahore police chief, blamed the protesters for the violence, saying they had taken the law into their hands. “When the police went to remove illegally set-up barricades, the workers of the party started pelting stones from roofs and threw petrol bombs,” he said. The police fired tear gas and charged the crowd with batons, then fired bullets in the air. Mr. Qadri’s supporters accused the police of firing directly into the crowd.
Twenty-seven police officers were among the injured. Mr. Shafique said five civilian deaths had been confirmed, attributing them to gunfire from the Qadri camp. Workers for Mr. Qadri’s party, however, said the police had fired directly into the crowd. The Lahore police chief, Chaudhry Shafique, accused the protesters of instigating the clashes. “When the police tried to remove the illegal barricades, party workers pelted them with stones and petrol bombs from the rooftops,” he said.
In January 2013, Mr. Qadri, who is based in Canada, led a march of thousands of followers to Islamabad to demand electoral reforms and the removal of the government, then led by the Pakistan People’s Party. Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab Province and a brother of the prime minister, told a news conference that of the 97 people reported injured, 27 were police officers. Later, he removed Mr. Shafique from his position as police chief.
According to the Pakistani Constitution, Mr. Qadri cannot take part in elections because of his dual Pakistani and Canadian citizenship. And despite an ability to mobilize thousands in the streets, he has not attained much formal political power. His party won just one seat in Parliament when it took part in 2002 elections. In January 2013, Mr. Qadri, who is based in Canada, led a march of thousands of followers to Islamabad to demand electoral reforms and the removal the previous government, which was led by the Pakistan Peoples Party.
Mr. Qadri’s profile rose again after he threatened to topple Mr. Sharif’s government, accusing it of having come to power by rigging general elections last year. Mr. Qadri has announced that he plans to arrive in Islamabad next Monday and has urged the Pakistani military to provide him protection. Under Pakistan’s Constitution, Mr. Qadri is barred from participating in elections because of his dual Pakistani and Canadian citizenship, and critics accused him of being a proxy for political interference by the military’s Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency.
Mr. Qadri has sought support for what he promises will be a revolution, but has so far been able to win the backing of only a handful of politicians who failed to win seats in last year’s elections. Mr. Qadri has demonstrated ability to mobilize large crowds of supporters, most of them drawn from his countrywide network of religious centers. But he enjoys no formal political power, and his party won just one seat the last time it participated in an election in 2002.
Government officials have hinted that Mr. Qadri will be arrested if he tries to return to Pakistan next week. They have also warned of possible money-laundering investigations against him. In recent weeks Mr. Qadri renewed his image as a political spoiler by announcing a fresh campaign to topple the government, this time led by Mr. Sharif, which he says is corrupt and came to power by rigging the May 2013 election.
Mr. Qadri’s protest could add to the troubles of the government at a time when the military has launched a long-awaited military offensive against Taliban leadership in North Waziristan, the rugged mountainous region that has been used as a staging ground for terrorist attacks in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan. Mr. Qadri says he will land in Islamabad on Monday and has urged the Pakistani military to provide him with protection. But given the suddenly precarious security situation, with the authorities in major cities stepping up security in anticipation of Taliban reprisals for the North Waziristan operation, it seems doubtful that the military will allow him to hold mass street rallies.
On Tuesday, Mr. Qadri, in a telephone address to supporters, condemned what he called highhandedness by the police. He said that the authorities had challenged a peaceful movement and that the police had fired on unarmed protesters. Mr. Sharif’s government, for its part, has hinted that Mr. Qadri might be arrested if he tries to return to Pakistan next week, and have warned that the courts could bring money-laundering investigations against him.
In a post on Twitter, Mr. Qadri said the Pakistani government, “gripped by fear of my arrival,” was harassing his party’s workers. In a telephone address to supporters on Tuesday, Mr. Qadri condemned the Lahore police, accusing them of opening fire on unarmed protesters. On Twitter, he said that Mr. Sharif had ordered the attack because he was “gripped by fear of my arrival.”
Salman Masood contributed reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan.