Senator Pervez Rashid, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting on Monday accused the Chief of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Dr Tahirul Qadri of hijacking a private airline by refusing to disembark from the aircraft. Talking to journalists after Tahirul Qadri refused to get off the plane in protest against diverting his Islamabad-bound Emirate Airline Flight EK612, the minister said the PAT workers should have shown some restraint as it was done for security reasons.
He said that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure foolproof security to Qadri, adding his plane was sent back to Lahore airport as he was facing some life threats in case of landing at Islamabad international airport. To a question about the arrest of Qadri, he said the government had no plan to arrest him. "We diverted his plane to Lahore and from there we were planning to send him to his residence via helicopter and all these measures were taken for ensuring security to the PAT leader," he maintained.
He said that why the government would arrest Qadri as he was a free citizen like Imran Khan and Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and he could go anywhere in the country. He said the decision to divert the flight of Qadri was taken after civil aviation authorities informed us that a huge crowed of Qadri supporters was waiting outside the airport, which could have been exploited by the terrorists. About baton charge on the supporters of the PAT leader, he said the police had to retaliate after they forcibly tried to enter the airport, which the government could not allow due to security threats to the passengers.
To a question about the demand of the PAT leader to hold talks with a military officer only, he said there is no provision in the Constitution that the army could interfere in matters of civilian administration. He said that if he had not agreed to go home, we would not have allowed the army to go for convincing the cleric.
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