‘Triumphant’ Qadri refuses to relent

Pakistan-born Canadian cleric Tahirul Qadri said on Friday that he reserves the right to take extreme measures if the agreement signed with the government was not implemented. Qadri, who shook the Pakistan government with his three-day siege of the capital demanding dissolution of parliament, had left for Lahore on Friday morning after signing an agreement with the government on the timing of the general elections. Claiming his ‘long march’ as successful and congratulating the entire nation, the Tehrik Minhaj-ul-Quran (TMQ) leader after reaching Lahore told reporters that if the agreement signed with the government was not implemented, they reserved the right to take extreme measures, Geo News reported. Qadri will resort to street protests aqain if the government does not abide by an agreement that eased a political crisis, an aide said on Friday. Qadri’s party may also participate in the elections. The cleric, who led four days of street protests in the heart of the capital aimed at forcing the government to resign, will keep pushing for political reforms and a halt to corruption, said his spokesman. “We will ensure implementation of the agreement with full letter and spirit,” Qazir Faizul Islam, secretary of information for Qadri’s charity, told reporters. “If the government tries to deviate, we will force them to follow through the power of the people and media.” “After signing the agreement for electoral reforms, we are part of the electoral process. We might take part in elections,” said Islam, adding however that Qadri had no ambitions to become prime minister. But the focus for the moment seems to be on the interim administration that will be formed after the dissolution of parliament and will oversee the elections. On Thursday night, while addressing participants of the sit-in in Islamabad, following the signature of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on what was termed as the ‘Islamabad Long March Declaration,’ Qadri said: “The march that started Sunday and continued till today had become a great model for the world to see.” Aside from giving Qadri a voice in who leads the caretaker administration, the government also agreed to dissolve parliament before a scheduled date of March 16, although it did not specify a date. It also said elections would be held within 90 days of the dissolution and electoral reforms would continue to be discussed. An announcement of an election date could come during a parliament session on Monday. The agreement could be reached after a 10-member committee, formed by Ashraf and headed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), held negotiations with Tahirul Qadri to end the sit-in. According to sources, Qadri came down from his bulletproof cabin following an agreement with the government late Thursday, climbed into his his sleek black SUV and headed towards Lahore leaving thousands of his followers behind celebrating the “victory.” “I congratulate you. Today is the day of victory for the people of Pakistan. You should go home as peacefully as you came here,” Qadri told participants after signing the deal with the prime minister. A new political crisis could erupt if Qadri tries to promote candidates for caretaker prime minister seen to be sympathetic to the military, which has ruled the country for more than half of its history as an independent nation. From Gulf Today