LAHORE, Nov 5: A delegation led by Jamaat-i-Islami’s Lahore amir Maqsood Ahmad held a meeting here on Monday with city district Nazim Amer Mahmood.

According to a press release, the delegation told Mr Mahmood the Nov 9 wheel-jam strike announced by the Pak-Afghan Defence Council would be peaceful. It said, however, that the “provocative” statements by the Punjab governor and some ministers could ruin the peaceful atmosphere of the provincial metropolis.

The governor, they regretted, had announced a crackdown on political workers to foil the strike. They said statements suggesting that the police would be given a ‘free hand’ were not helpful.

If the government used force to make the traders open the shops, the delegation warned, a law and order problem would be created.

The delegation asked the Nazim to tell the government the city had been peaceful since US attacks on Afghanistan and there had been no tension. The provocative statements by the officials, could, however, create unrest.

The Nazim said he would convey Jamaat leaders’ sentiments to the authorities. He hoped that the protesters would not use force to ensure closure of businesses or create hurdles to traffic.

The religious parties, he said, were allowed to approach traders and transporters and persuade them to observe the strike.