LAHORE: The government is ready to allow the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) to proceed with its Inqilab (revolution) march, but wants someone to guarantee that its chief Dr Tahirul Qadri will not incite people to violence.

The government expressed its readiness on Wednesday when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approached all those parties which share his stance that protest marches should not lead to demise of the democratic order.

The move was meant to take the parties into confidence on the measures being taken by the government to maintain peace during the PAT’s Inqilab and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Azadi marches to Islamabad on Independence Day (today).

Sources privy to the development quoted the prime minister as informing the leaders of these parties that the government would not obstruct the Azadi march, but take some security measures only to ensure safety of its participants in the wake of terror alerts received from intelligence agencies.

He said he also had no objection to the Inqilab march provided the government was given some guarantee that the PAT chief would not incite his workers to violence.

The prime minister urged leaders of religious parties, particularly Jamaat-i-Islami emir Sirajul Haq who has been mediating between the ruling PML-N and the PTI, to play a similar role between the government and Tahirul Qadri.

According to the sources, Mr Haq was asked to talk to the PAT chief and get an assurance that he would not create a law and order situation during the march.

But a JI official told Dawn that Mr Haq had refused to mediate between the government and the PAT.

Later Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif phoned Mr Haq, apparently to persuade the latter to give a thought to the prime minister’s request, but he was told that the JI emir was busy at the moment and could not talk to him. The chief minister was asked to call later, the JI official said.

Meanwhile, Dr Qadri has criticised the government for describing him and his followers as violent people who do not believe in the law and Constitution.

He said he believed in the Constitution and wanted to amend the basic law in accordance with the prescribed procedure and would continue his struggle for people’s rights.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2014