ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran (TMQ), Dr Tahirul Qadri, has decided to challenge in a Canadian court his summoning to that country on Feb 5 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to explain as to why he had violated the oath he took when seeking asylum there, DawnNews reported.

However, Qadri's counsel, Mendel Green, had refused to represent the TMQ chief in this case.

Green had assisted Qadri in his asylum application to Canada which was accepted in 2009.

The RCMP has reportedly said that Qadri had violated his oath which did not allow him to enter the country he had sought asylum from.

Separately, a spokesman for the TMQ has declared news reports over Qadri's summoning as baseless.

After holding a long march and a sit-in in Islamabad, Qadri had reached a deal with Pakistan's ruling coalition on Thursday that would give his party some say over the formation of a caretaker government ahead of elections this spring. Qadri's party may also participate in the elections.

The cleric's reappearance on Pakistan's political stage a few weeks ago after years of living in Canada, and his calls for the military to play a role in forming an interim administration, has raised speculation he may be backed by the country's powerful army. Qadri and the military deny this.