Islamabad (November 24, 2017): Islamabad’s district administration on Friday evening issued a final warning to protesters camped out at the Faizabad Interchange to disperse, threatening to take action if the order was not heeded.
According to the details, while implementing the Islamabad High Court’s order on Friday, the district administration in Islamabad has issued final warning to sit-in protestors in Faizabad to clear the main road by 12:00am.
In the final notice, the district administration has warned that operation will be launched against the protestors after 12:00am and the protesting party will be responsible if any mishap occurred.
In the missive, the district magistrate noted that for two weeks the protesters have illegally occupied the Faizabad Bridge, which connects Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The notification recalls that the participants have been asked to disperse thrice before but to no avail.
“The Parade Ground located near the Faizabad Interchange has been allocated for protests,” the notification states.
If the participants do not vacate the area by midnight, an operation will be launched against them, the District Magistrate has warned.
“If an operation is launched, the onus will be on the participants and leaders of the protest,” the notification further warns.
Daily life in the capital has been disrupted by protesters belonging to religious parties — including the Tehreek-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat, Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLY) and the Sunni Tehreek Pakistan (ST) — who are calling for the sacking of Law Minister Zahid Hamid and strict action against those behind the amendment to the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat oath in the Elections Act 2017.
The amendment had earlier been deemed a ‘clerical error’ and has already been rectified.
The government on Monday scrambled to secure the support of religious leaders and ulema from across the political spectrum in a bid to negotiate a peaceful end to the sit-in.
However, a meeting between representatives of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah and government ministers held at Punjab House was unable to make any breakthrough, as the protesters had refused to budge from their demand for the law minister’s resignation.
Earlier today, while issuing the contempt of court notice to Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal over his failure to implement the court order, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the district administration to clear Faizabad sit-in protest within three days.
Justice Shaukat Siddiqui said the court cannot issue license to kill, however, most of the protestors would disperse only with teargas shelling only.
The whole Muslim Ummah coherence on the belief of Khatm-e-Nubuwwat, he added.
On Monday, the court had warned authorities to obey its order to shut down the protest, which has sparked widespread anger by virtually bringing the capital to a halt for almost nineteen days.
The protesters are demanding the resignation of federal law minister Zahid Hamid over a hastily-abandoned amendment to the oath election candidates must swear. The government puts the issue down to a clerical error.
Roughly 2,000 protesters from the Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah Pakistan group have blocked the main highway used by thousands of commuters since November 6, causing hours-long traffic snarls.
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