Daily Times

LAHORE: Islamabad High Court (IHC) has granted a three-day extension in deadline for the religious parties to end their sit-in, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal announced on Monday.

Earlier the court had ordered the district government to clear the Faizabad interchange, occupied by the protestors, by Saturday morning.

“The deadline to end the sit-in is now Nov 23,” Iqbal told the media after appearing before the court today.

“The district’s administration did not launch a crackdown against the protesters on my orders. I did not want any un-rest,” he said.

He said that the government was in contact with the religious scholars and would convince the protestors to end the sit-in very soon.

“We will resolve this issue within 48 hours,” he said.

After attending the meeting of government officials and the religious scholars later the same day, the interior minister also addressed a joint press conference with Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Mohammad Yousuf.

He said that a consensus had been made to resolve the issue peacefully as soon as possible.

The religious affairs minister told the media that a committee under Pir Hussainuddin will be made to negotiate with the protestors.

However, the protesters continued to call for the sacking of the law minister, Zahid Hamid.