Court orders FIR against Nawaz, Qadri demands hanging

Lahore High Court (LHC) Tuesday ordered filing of an FIR against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his party leaders over an incident of violence in Lahore, prompting cleric Tahir-ul Qadri to demand those found responsible be hanged.

At least 11 people were killed and dozens injured in a clash between police and Qadri's Pakistan Awami League (PAT) in Lahore's Model Town area, after a police party tried to remove barriers around Qadri's house and the Minhajul Quran Secretariat.

The Judicial Tribunal constituted to probe the tragedy had held Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who is the brother of Nawaz Sharif, and the Punjab government responsible for it, Dawn reported.

In a speech to the people participating in the sit-in protest here Tuesday, PAT chief Qadri said the tribunal had come to the conclusion that the Punjab government was responsible for the carnage in Model Town area.

The current situation, he said, will not be simply resolved with the resignations of the Sharifs, but only with their hangings.

"Now the matter will not be resolved with the government's resignation but with the Sharifs being hanged."

"Such a big incident could not have taken place without the consent of both the Sharif brothers," Qadri said, adding that both Nawaz and Shahbaz must resign and hold themselves accountable before the law.

Upholding a sessions court's ruling, the high court ordered police to register an FIR over violence.

An additional district and sessions judge had ordered police to register the FIR on the request of Qadri's party. The order was challenged in the high court by four federal ministers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

The case was then heard by Justice Mehmood Maqbool Bajwa, who also directed the joint investigation team (JIT) to submit its report in court before the verdict was released.

Reading out a short order, the high court Tuesday upheld the lower court's ruling and dismissed the federal ministers' request not to file the FIR.