113 hurt; cleric jet diverted
Tahir ul Qadri. (Photo: AFP/File)
Islamabad: An Islamabad-bound flight carrying Canada-based anti-Taliban cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, who has vowed to lead a “revolution” against the Nawaz Sharif government, was diverted to Lahore on Monday.
Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, a religious leader-turned-political leader from Jhang in Pakistan, has dual nationality and usually lives Canada. He had made headlines last year when he led mass rallies against the PPP government.
In 2010 in London, he had issued a 600-page fatwa against terrorism and extremism to counter any theological justifications for terrorism.
Dr Qadri had planned to land in Islamabad and lead a march of his supporters through the famous Grand Trunk Road to Lahore. The anti-Taliban cleric, who wants to bring a revolution by toppling the Sharif government, was due to land in Islamabad on Monday morning by an Emirates flight, but was diverted to Lahore for security reasons as clashes erupted between his supporters and the police.
“The plane was diverted to Lahore for security reasons. We could not afford any clashes,” information minister Pervez Rashid said. The clashes took place as activists of Qadri’s Pakistani Awami Tehrik wounded at least 73 policemen, many of them seriously. Some 40 PAT activists were also injured in the clashes.
( Source : dc )
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