PR obtained from MQI: For immediate release: 13/01/13

For immediate release: 13/01/13

‘Pakistani government mobilises 20,000 troops against peaceful protesters’

With a ‘million-man’ march descending upon the capital, the Pakistani government has mobilised 20,000 paramilitary troops to stop pro-democracy protestors from entering Islamabad. Parliamentary authority has been temporarily transferred to Karachi, as government officials leave Islamabad amid fears of a public uprising. Islamabad has been heavily barricaded with shipping containers cordoning off entry routes to the capital. Security check points have been set up and extra security drafted in from various provinces. Reports from within Pakistan suggest law enforcement authorities have been impeding marchers and their modes of transport, and blocking main routes out of major cities, as the march continues to gain momentum. Reports also suggest that shipping containers have been stocked up with acid and other chemical substances.

Tapping into increasing public discontent towards corrupt governance, abject poverty, energy shortages and escalating terrorism, which has led to countless deaths, the ‘Democracy March’ is being led by Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former parliamentarian, and Leader of Tehreek-e-Minhaj-ul-Quran (TMQ). Made up of tens of thousands of people, the demonstration has begun to proceed from Lahore towards the capital. It is estimated that the number of participants is likely to reach anything between 2-4 million by the time the march reaches its destination Islamabad on January 14th and has the potential of being the biggest public demonstration in the country’s 65 year history.

Dr Qadri insists that tomorrow’s public vote of no confidence outside the Parliament building will send a clear message to the ruling elite that feudal politics and rampant corruption will no longer be tolerated. According to Dr Qadri, the government has lost its mandate to rule having completely failed to provide basic provisions and security to its citizens. The recent terrorist attacks in Quetta, and the subsequent failure of the provincial government to provide relief and assistance to the victims and their relatives, is according to many symbolic of the federal administration’s incompetence to govern.

Evidence:
All set to keep Tahirul Qadri away:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6-154053-All-set-to-keep-Tahirul-Qadri-away
PPP AND PML(N) Goverment use of Acid Container in Long March:
http://www.zemtv.com/2013/01/13/ppp-and-pmln-goverment-use-of-acid-container-in-long-march/