Interior Minister Rehman Malik has endorsed the demands made by Dr Tahirul Qadri as ‘national agenda’, and says the government will welcome the planned march on Islamabad and play the role of a ‘facilitator’.

The Tehreek Minhajul Quran chairman, on the other hand, said if the government thought that talks should be held on the subject, he would be willing to share the table with the prime minister and his cabinet colleagues (not anybody else).The two leaders said this while talking to reporters after exchange of views at the heavily protected Model Town residence of the TMQ chairman, mainly on the security issues. 

A few days ago, the interior minister had flown to London to hold talks with MQM chief Altaf Husain to dissuade his party from participation in the proposed march. However, the self-exiled leader had advised him to contact Dr Qadri in Lahore for any talks. He had also made clear that any final decision about the long march would be taken by the TMQ chairman. 

“The enemy can do anything,” the minister politely warned Qadri after the talks. At the same time, he said, he had not asked the TMQ chief to call off his march.Dr Qadri wants the installation of a caretaker government in consultation with all the stakeholders, including the judiciary and the army. He also calls for electoral reforms and strict enforcement of the qualifications and disqualifications for the election contestants, without any discrimination or laxity.To mount pressure for his agenda, he plans to lead a long march from Lahore to Islamabad and stay there till the acceptance of his demands. He claims that some four million people will converge on the federal capital. A number of parties say that the march is aimed at derailing the democratic process and delaying the elections.

“I have not come here for talks (to have the long march cancelled). I have told them they are welcome to the federal capital. I wanted to exchange views (with Dr Qadri) on the security situation,” said the interior minister, with a usual smile on his face.He said he has already directed the Punjab chief secretary and the homes secretary to provide ‘foolproof’ security to Dr Qadri from Lahore to Islamabad.

In the capital, he said, the federal government would take care of everything.To allay any suspicions about the agenda of his talks, Malik said he had held a similar session with PML-N President Nawaz Sharif when he had planned a march on Islamabad. “We discussed the venue of the sit-in in Islamabad,” the minister said of his talks with Dr Qadri, without elaborating if there was any agreement on the issue.

Giving his views on the agenda given by Dr Qadri, the minister said he fully agreed that those who had got their loans written off should not be allowed to contest elections.He said the government wanted a society free of corruption, extortion, drugs and all other mafias. “We want to ensure that the rich doesn’t get richer and the poor poorer”.

Dr Qadri told the media that he had made clear to the interior minister that his agenda did not contain anything repugnant to the Constitution or that which could derail the democratic process and delay the polls.He said he wanted to enhance the capacity of the system to hold free, fair and transparent elections in accordance with the true spirit of the Constitution. “My struggle is not for any personal gain, nor to benefit or damage any party”.Dr Qadri reiterated that the march would be absolutely peaceful.

But at the same time, he warned, in case anyone tried to block it, he (Qadri) would not be responsible for the consequences. He alleged that the Punjab government was pressuring bus owners to cancel their deals with the TMQ for taking people to Islamabad. These people, he said, were returning money to the TMQ. The Punjab government, however, denied that it was creating any problem.The march is scheduled to start from Lahore on January 13 and reach Islamabad the next day. The deadline for meeting Qadri’s demands expires on January 10.