 |
| [GFX © news.BDTV.in] |
Islamabad: Pakistan's coalition government on Thursday negotiated an
end to a four-day protest in the nation's capital led by firebrand cleric
Tahir-ul Qadri against the country's political leadership.
Thousands of supporters danced and burst burst into cheers
as Tahir-ul Qadri, a Canadian-Pakistani cleric whose protest challenged the
country's political establishment, said he had reached a deal with the
government.
He called the
agreement "a great document in the history of Pakistan's democracy,"
he said.
Cleric Tahirul Qadri triggered a political crisis by
launching mass protests in the capital four days ago calling for electoral
reforms to clean up Pakistani politics.
According to a copy of the agreement released by his
spokesman Qadri has managed to persuade the government to dissolve parliament
before a scheduled date of March 16 so that elections, due in May, can take
place within 90 days, and also to discuss electoral reforms.
The protest was the longest single political rally in
Pakistan's history, and shut down the capital's main business district for four
days. Demonstrators equipped with blankets and tents sat through cold nights
and rain, refusing to leave until their leader's demands were met.
Qadri kept a tight
rein on the protest. The cleric had his own security teams secure access to the
avenue, conducting body searchers and demanding identification of anyone who
tried to enter the area.
Thousands of police
and armed paramilitary rangers had remained on alert in case the estimated
50,000 protestors had tried to break through the barricade of metal containers
protecting the nation's parliament building.
-VOA