Parliament Lodges turn into battlefield

ISLAMABAD: Parliament Lodges on Thursday turned into a battlefield as the police seized two JUIF MNAs Salahuddin Ayubi, Maulana Jamaluddin, spokesman Mufti Abdullah and 18 workers during an operation against JUIF activists present there.

The police authorities claimed that the operation had been conducted to clear the Parliament Lodges of the activists of Ansarul Islam who were residing there for security of the JUIF MNAs. Heavy contingents of police commandos and other law enforcement agencies gathered around the Parliament Lodges under the command of DIG (Operations) and initiated negotiations with the JUIF leadership led by MNA Salahuddin Ayubi who was residing in Suite-401 to hand the Ansarul Islam activists over to the police but the JUIF leader refused to accept their demand saying that they were their guests and legally staying with them.

According to sources, the negotiations continued for five hours and ended in stalemate. Shortly afterwards, clash between Ayubi’s staff and police personnel erupted. Several PPP and PMLN parliamentarians were also present in the lodges at the time, while JUI's Maulana Fazlur Rehman also reached the venue.

During a scuffle between police and Ayubi’s staff at the lodges, PMLN leader Khawaja Saad Rafique was injured when his foot hit the door. Rafique, while talking to journalists, said that Ayaz Sadiq was holding a meeting in the lodges when the incident happened.

“We found out that the police had entered the lodges and had surrounded it,” he said, adding when they contacted the police, they were informed that the police had warrants fort some people.

"We tried to convince them that they could not enter the lodges, but the police personnel remained adamant and entered by force." The police commandos broke into the suite of Salahuddin Ayubi and arrested activists of Ansarul Islam, dragged them out of the room, shifted to police prisoner vans and taken to unknown place.

The DIG instructed the officials to evacuate media personnel from the building as they made their way towards the lodge of MNA, Salahuddin Ayubi. Meanwhile, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Akram Durrani and JUIF activists reached the scene. PMLN, PPP and other political parties’ leadership gathered in the Parliament Lodges and expressed their anger against the government policies.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman announced, while speaking to the media people, that he would offer his arrest and asked the JUIF workers to reach Islamabad if they could, otherwise they should block all roads of the locations where they were present. “We will fight against the anti-democratic people who want to create unrest in the country,” Maulana conveyed message to the JUIF activists.

He said, “Government wants to abduct the opposition’s members of the National Assembly by arresting them” to reduce their numbers during the session when the no-confidence motion would be moved.

“I will surrender myself along with some of my friends,” he said. “I request all party workers to block roads and shut down businesses,” Fazl said. Meanwhile, Minister for Interior Sheikh Ahmed Rashid said that the country might move towards a civil war.

Speaking about the clash between the police and Ansarul Islam workers, Rashid said, “Ansarul Islam activists are attacking the police and [damaging] police vans." He said that talks were held with the JUIF leadership to hand over Ansarul Islam activists and the dialogue continued for hours but they were stubborn and were not ready to listen anything.

He said that the government should not be blamed if something unexpected occurred. He made it clear that those would be dealt with severity who took law into their hands. He further said that JUIF brought 70 people, adding that they held negotiations with the party to hand over their workers.

Rashid said that the opposition leaders are outside the Parliament Lodges, and they are trying to stop anyone from entering the premises. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhary Fawad Hussain said the attack of JUIF’s force on Parliament Lodges is “condemnable by all aspects.”

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Chaudhry said that the armed group had reached Parliament Lodges to put pressure on parliamentarians. He further said that the opposition would fail in its no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan.

The minister said that the NA Speaker Asad Qaiser had directed the Islamabad police to take strict action against the facilitators of these groups and they would be dealt with according to the law.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said the police operation in Parliament Lodges is "proof of Imran Khan’s nervousness.” “Violence against members of the Parliament and their arrests is unbearable, this is enough,” he said, adding that consequences of such dictatorial acts will not be good for the PTI government.

The PPP leader said that PM Imran Khan’s efforts to frighten the members of the Parliament through the police will not bear fruits for him. “Members of the Parliament have lost confidence in Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he said adding that “panicked and selected Imran Khan has started harassing the members of the Parliament.”

Former president and PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari condemned the “police brutality” in Parliament Lodges, saying that “puppet Prime Minister Imran Khan is harassing the members of the Parliament by creating fear and terror.”

“Attempts are being made to oust not only JUI members but all assembly members,” he said, urging police personnel to stop following “illegal orders of puppet Imran Khan.” Zardari said that members of the assembly should keep their spirits high as “the Niazi government is breathing its last.”

Meanwhile, Adviser to Chief Minister Sindh on Law Murtaza Wahab, who is also the Administrator Karachi, said the federal government is "panicking" as the opposition has moved its no-confidence vote.

Taking notice of the issue, PMLN Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that Islamabad police should refrain from acting like the prime minister's "stooges". “It is inappropriate to blame oneself for such insane acts, and the government will have to face difficulties because of this,” she wrote on Twitter.

Maryam urged PM Imran Khan to open his eyes and see his party falling because of his actions and not because of the opposition or foreign conspiracy. “You are responsible for this; your filthy language, arrogance, pride and disrespect for other leaders have led you to this position,” she said, adding that it’s too late now as his [Imran Khan’s] threats are useless now.

He said that families of Parliamentarians live in the Lodges and Imran Khan has violated the sanctity of the four boundaries. The members of the Parliament staged a sit-in inside its premises.

PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of the Opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Akram Khan Durrani, PMLN leaders Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafique, PPP’s Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah and JUIF General Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Haideri are present inside the lodges.

According to sources, an emergency meeting is being conducted under the chairmanship of Fazl at the residence of the arrested MNA Salahuddin. Sources informed Geo News that the next course of action is being discussed in the meeting.