Police fear further violence in Lahore

The Lahore police are apprehensive that further protests linked to the murder of Sunni Tehrik (ST) chief Maulana Saleem Qadri and five others in Karachi could badly mar peace. A protest, staged at Data Darbar in Lahore on Saturday night, to coincide with the burial of Qadri in Karachi, turned violent after police tried to prevent the demonstrators, made up mainly of ST activists supported by other religious parties, from marching on the roads.

The large crowd, gathered around the cordoned-off Data Darbar area, began to fling stones at police as attempts were made using batons and tear gas to disperse them. One of the stone's hit city police chief Raja Farooq Sajid and this unleashed a furious reaction from police who began a fierce charge at the crowd.

The demonstrators struck back with stones and sticks and the worst violence was seen late on Saturday night as several motorcycles parked in the area were set on fire. The situation was brought under control after several hours, with about five people suffering minor injuries. Around 100 arrests were made and the activists remained in detention till yesterday evening.

Senior superintended of police Farooq Sajid was among those listed as "slightly injured" with a cut to the head. "We are looking into the matter, and also the suggestion that better management by police could have prevented even the small scale trouble that broke out," a spokesman at Sajid's offices told Gulf News yesterday.

Police in Lahore are concerned that with more protests against the killings planned in Lahore over the next few days, still more grave violence could erupt. "Yes, we are planning protests since this is a truly unacceptable situation where innocent people are gunned down," said Maulana Abdul Razak of the ST, who had also led the protest at Data Darbar on Saturday.

Police fear that with the situation now highly volatile, such a plan of action could lead to more unrest. The ST and other religious parties backing it are demanding Qadri's killers be found and apprehended.

A three-day mourning period from Saturday was also announced during the Karachi funeral.The mourning is also to be observed in Punjab. "We will maintain vigilance and try to avert any further problems," the deputy inspector general of police, Punjab Javed Noor, told Gulf News. The ST is seen as an extremist party, holding views hostile to minority communities.