February 28, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 29, 1427

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LAHORE, Feb 27: Police on Monday thwarted the Tahaffuz Namoos-i-Risalat Mahaz (TNRM) attempt to hold a train march and arrested more than 80 activists from Lahore railway station.

The TNRM had announced a Lahore-Rawalpindi train march against blasphemous caricatures published by some European newspapers.

As the TNRM activists, led by Pir Afzal Qadri, appeared at the scene to ride the Awam Express, large contingents of police which had surrounded the area since the previous night took them into custody.

Besides Mr Qadri, those arrested included Maulana Ziaullah Qadri, Muhammad Khan Qadri and Shahid Gardezi.

Several workers coming from adjoining districts like Gujranwala, Gujrat and Kasur, were also hauled up.

The TNRM, which had earlier taken out the Feb 14 rally on The Mall here, will now hold an all-Punjab convention at Nasser Bagh on March 1.

Qazi: MMA president and Jamaat-i-Islami amir Qazi Husain Ahmad has pledged to continue the peaceful protest movement against blasphemous cartoons.

Talking to reporters at Mansoora after women’s rally on Monday, he said the protests would also welcome US president Bush in Islamabad.

The Qazi, who had been taken into custody the previous day and was later put under house arrest in Mansoora for a month, said a petition challenging his detention had been heard by the Lahore High Court on Monday morning and reply had been sought from the Punjab government on March 2, the next hearing date.

He denounced the rulers for using allegedly excessive state force to crush peaceful protesters venting out their anger at the cartoons.

“The rulers in this way are portraying the image of a police state instead of their cherished soft image of Pakistan.”

He said the institution of the army was also being damaged because “it is supporting a general who is working for the interests of the West instead of people of the land.”

Asked why the venue of women rally had been shifted from Nasser Bagh, he said it was done to avoid any clash with police. “The religious leadership wants to maintain peace at all costs.”

He said it was the prime reason they were tolerating the strong arm tactics of the rulers.

Release demanded: PML-N MNA Pervaiz Malik met the Punjab home secretary on Monday, urging him to release the opposition leaders and workers arrested or detained because of some cases against them or even without any case.

The home secretary reportedly told him that he would look into the matter.

According to Mr Malik, over a 100 party leaders and workers are under arrest or detention at present.

Advocate Naseer Bhutta has been set free.

Meanwhile, Punjab PML-N information secretary Bilal Yasin said at a news conference that cases against Saad Rafiq and Zaeem Qadri had been instituted to victimise them.

He said some PML-N supporters were being punished for their loyalty to the Sharifs.