ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said on Sunday that Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri was enjoying freedom of speech and yet he claimed that restrictions had been placed on him.

“Mr Qadri, who says he does not fear anyone, is using people as human shield to protect himself from the law,” the minister said in a statement issued in response to a speech made the PAT leader at a gathering held in Lahore.

Speaking in a television programme earlier in the day, Senator Rashid urged Dr Qadri to avoid violent protests and abide by the law and Constitution.

The minister praised efforts made by political parties to resolve political issues through dialogue and said the government would be happy if the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) played it role to persuade the PAT chief to refrain from agitation.

He said PAT’s men and women activists were carrying batons and attacking police personnel and their leader was delivering provoking speeches and instigating his workers to create anarchy and chaos in the name of protests.

The minister said holding protests within the legal and constitutional parameters was the right of everyone but the government would not allow anyone to challenge the writ of the state. He said it was the duty of the state to protect its citizens. He said Dr Qadri was not ready to accept the democratically elected government and courts working under the Constitution, and youngsters were being asked to apply at the PAT’s secretariat for jobs to be given to them after coming to power.

The minister praised Jamaat-i-Islami chief Sirajul Haq for making efforts to defuse the crisis.

He expressed the hope that the efforts of reconciliation and unity would bear fruit and politicians would succeed in giving a message of unity on the Independence Day.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2014