LAHORE, Jan 8: Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran chief Dr Tahirul Qadri said on Tuesday that since the Taliban had denied issuing any threat, both federal and Punjab governments would be responsible if anything “wrong” happened to his planned long march next week.

“As the reports about a possible terrorist attack by Taliban on the marchers have proved wrong and baseless, we will hold the president, prime minister and the Punjab government responsible if any untoward event took place during our peaceful march,” Dr Qadri said.

He was talking to media after a meeting with the leaders of Majlis-i-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen who announced that they would join the long march.

The TMQ leader accused the federal and Punjab governments of using negative tactics to stop the march.

“They (the rulers), who seem to be in a state of fear, are reportedly talking about my house arrest. Blocking roads in Islamabad and even some parts of Punjab by containers also reflects the rulers’ fear,” he said, adding there were reports that he and around 200 other leaders might be placed under house arrest before the long march.

Dr Qadri alleged that MNAs and MPAs belonging to the federal and Punjab governments were pressurising transporters not to provide service to the marchers.

“I am again telling the rulers categorically to avoid doing so. Otherwise I will lose my control over the millions of marchers and then the two governments will be responsible if anything bad happened to them on the way,” he cautioned.

He said clarifications by the United States, UK and the establishment had proved that he was not acting under their advice.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf has said it will not join the long march announced by Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran chief Dr Tahirul Qadri for Jan 14, as the party wants holding of general elections on time and within constitutional parameters, ads APP.

Talking to APP, PTI spokesman Shafqat Mehmood said on Tuesday that his party did not support the long march because any such move was likely to delay the elections.

He said the PTI had always demanded timely and transparent elections.

He said although Dr Qadri’s reform agenda was similar to that of the PTI’s, his party was against the timing of the march as general elections were only a couple of months away and the march might destabilise the democratic process.