ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Saturday showed his nod to conditionally release the banned religious outfit Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) Chief Saad Rizvi.
In a meeting with the Ulema of Bralvi school of thought at his residence in Bani Gala, the PM said he had no objection to Saad Rizvi’s release if courts release him.
The sources said Ulema urged the PM to release the TLP chief and take action against the statements of Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry that could sabotage negotiations.
PM Imran while talking to Ulema on the demand of expulsion of the French ambassador said it was not the solution but there was a need to acknowledge the world that blasphemy hurts Muslims.
Imran Khan said there was not only the TLP who had respect and love for Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) but all Muslims. He said his government did not want to use force against the TLP long march participants.
He said the police had not used force against the protesters but the TLP carried out firing on the security forces. In the meeting, a 12-member committee has also been formed to act as a negotiator between the government and the banned TLP.
Talking to media after attending a meeting of government and religious scholars belonging to the Barelvi school of thought and chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Minister Pir Noorul Haq Qadri said the committee was in talks with the government and proscribed leaders.
Qadri said the Prime Minister told the participants that the present government has always encouraged serious and meaningful dialogue.
The Federal Minister said that religious leaders from all over the country met the Prime Minister and expressed their determination to resolve the issue peacefully.
The Federal Minister said that the Prime Minister also told the Ulema that their suggestions would also be considered, which could save the country from bloodshed.
The 12-member committee is in talks with the TLP leadership and we hope they will move forward (in their talks with the banned political party),” he said. Hours earlier, a delegation of clerics arrived at the prime minister’s private residence in Bani Gala on Saturday afternoon, according to the report.
In reply to another question about making negotiations conditional to TLP protesters not moving towards Islamabad, he said “it could sabotage the negotiations.”
For his part, President Sunni Ittehad Council (Faisalabad) Sahibzada Hamid Raza said the prime minister had assured the meeting’s participants that the government would not use ‘torture’ to curtail the protests.
Raza said the prime minister told the meeting that he did not wish to see bloodshed in the country, but noted that there would be “no compromise when it came to the writ of the state.”
“We urge the protesters to not resort to violence […] as negotiations are underway in different parts of the country,” the SIC president said.
When asked whether the protest was a constitutional right, Raza said that the protesters should remain where there and not move forward as it might sabotage the negotiations. “Wait a little more since you have already waited this long,” he told the protesters.
Raza refused to go into details about the negotiations, as he said that it might lead to confusion.
