Police arrest more than 110 protestors gathered to celebrate assassination of Salmaan Taseer

LAHORE: Punjab Police detained more than 110 clerics for attempting to hold a rally in favour of the blasphemy law and to ‘celebrate’ the assassination of Salmaan Taseer on his death anniversary.

The police arrested the clerics from Main Boulevard in Gulberg where they were gathering to hold a rally, in this regard.

It is learnt that the clerics have been allowed to hold a rally on Mall Road but not in Gulberg. Heavy police contingents have been deployed at Kalma Chowk and roads have been blocked with containers. Further, the Metro Bus Service has also been suspended after a few protestors entered its track.

Meanwhile, Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasoolallah has organised two separate rallies, one on Mall Road and the other in Gulberg led by Dr Ashraf Asif Jalali and Hafiz Khadim Hussain Rizvi respectively.

The religious group had announced a rally on the 6th death anniversary of slain Punjab governor Salaman Taseer. The group has demanded that a ban should be imposed on lighting candles for the killed governor, who allegedly committed blasphemy. The rally will start from Kalma Chowk and end on Liberty Chowk.

The former governor was shot dead by his bodyguard, Mumtaz Qadri, on January 4, 2011, allegedly because Taseer had defended a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy.