ISLAMABAD, March 8: The government finalised on Sunday its plan to seal Islamabad and bar the lawyers-led long march from proceeding towards the Parliament House, but decided to show some flexibility by offering two alternative venues if the march remained peaceful.

The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Interior Rehman Malik.

A senior government official, who attended the meeting, said that lawyers would not be allowed to march towards the Parliament House to hold public meeting near the building, but the meeting decided to offer two other venues.

“The authorities concerned were asked to meet the organisers and offer them two venues -- a ground in sector H-11 and the under-developed Parade Ground near Faizabad,” he said.

Senior officials of the local administration and police have been tasked to meet the organisers of the long march and persuade them to use the alternative sites and avoid reaching the Parliament House where the previous long march had culminated into a big public meeting in June last year.

Mr Malik told the meeting that a plan had been chalked out to stop the long march from entering Islamabad, a source close to him said.

The lawyers have decided to stage a sit-in outside the Parliament House for an indefinite period and paralyse the capital.

Lawyers’ leader Ali Ahmed Kurd said the long march and sit-in would be held outside the Parliament House and all barricades would be thrown away.

Meanwhile, containers are being brought to Islamabad to be used to block all entrances to the capital.

There are also reports that leaders of the lawyers’ movement, including Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, could be placed under house arrest before the beginning of the long march.

The government fears that the participants could create a law and order situation if they are permitted to proceed to the Parliament House.

A senior government official, who attended several security meetings held in recent days, told Dawn that lawyers would be stopped, even by force, from entering Islamabad.
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