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Tahirul Qadri addresses supporters during a protest rally in Islamabad, Jan 17, 2013. — Photo by AFP

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday said change could not come through sitting in a container but through the power of votes, adding that the “pretend-march” of Tahirul Qadri, chief of the Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran, had derailed after striking a deal on Islamabad's D chowk, DawnNews reported.

In a statement released from Lahore, the chief minister criticised the TMQ chief saying the conspiracy to derail the democratic system had failed miserably.

The statement added that after the deal was struck at D chowk, the “container-revolutionaries” had become akin to the “corrupt” politicians they had been criticising.

The chief minister said those claiming to save the state had barely managed to keep their word.

He called the march "a drama that lasted for five days", adding that it reached its "logical conclusion in five hours and without fulfilling its objective".

Sharif said his government had created new records with respect to public service, adding that no one could prove corruption of a single rupee against the Punjab government.

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