LAHORE: Hundreds of Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) workers and supporters of party chief Dr Tahirul Qadri were gathered on Thursday in Lahore’s Model Town in the area surrounding the party chief's residence.

Over 300 of these are Qadri's female supporters seated in tents outside the PAT chief's residence. Moreover, members of the party's youth wing and Tehreek Minhajul Quran armed with clubs and holding protective shields and wearing helmets were roaming the streets around the secretariat. Consequently, streets in the area also stood blocked.

The development comes hours after the police booked Qadri in a case for allegedly inciting people to rise against the government, provoking his followers to resort to violence and inciting them to confront police through his fiery speeches.

Police had also begun a crackdown on PAT leaders and activists in some parts of Punjab in the run-up to the Youm-i-Shuhada slated for Aug 10, arresting a few of them.

The party however said the government had launched a full-scale crackdown on its workers across Punjab and had made several arrests.

PAT is alleging that more than 100 of its activists were arrested late Wednesday night from various cities of Punjab, including Muzaffargarh, Gujranwala and Burewala.

Also on Wednesday, a heavy contingent of police had briefly sealed the roads leading to Qadri’s residence, sending alarm bells ringing among workers who had started to assemble outside Minhajul Quran International's Lahore secretariat and the party leader's residence.

Meanwhile, Qadri has said that if the government crackdown against his supporters continued, ‘Youm-i-Shuhada’ would turn into ‘Youm-i-Inqilaab'.

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He was speaking to media representatives from his residence, where he announced that he would declare his line of action and future strategy after a meeting of allied parties, already scheduled for Thursday.

“The country would become a battleground for revolution if I am arrested,” he said in response to a question.

Qadri demanded that the government should end the crackdown within a day's time, or it would be responsible for whatever may happen as a result.

Speaking to Dawn, PAT Central Information Secretary Qazi Faiz said it seemed that the government wanted a repeat of the Model Town incident in which a number of Qadri’s supporters were killed.

He said Qadri was present at his residence and PAT workers were prepared to respond to any attempt to arrest him.