ISLAMABAD - Dispelling an imminent operation against the Faizabad protesters, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday said the government will not let certain quarters pitch the Sunni school of thought against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government.

He said the government was following a strategy to deal with the protesters, adding there was no question of sacking the law minister. “The government has no option to surrender to the protesters’ demands. Many more protesters will come if their demands are met,” Ahsan Iqbal told the media here. “The government has still the fortitude to avert the operation. We had seen 140-day sit-in before as well,” he said.

He affirmed the venue can be vacated from the protesters within three hours, but the government does not want bloodshed. “Who can guarantee there will be no Lal Masjid or the Model Town-like episode?” he questioned. “The government will not provide them with an opportunity to create the Lal Masjid and Model Town-like situation to build up their political case,” Iqbal averred. He said the sit-in has a political agenda, however, the government and the protesters are still engaged in talks to find an amicable solution to the problem. “Dialogues are underway at different forums. The protesters have also held dialogues with different institutions as well,” he affirmed.

To a question, he said he was not the interior minister of Faizabad only, but that of the whole country. He pointed out representatives of all political parties, including religious ones, were present in the meetings when the draft bill was approved and no one objected to the amendment in the declaration of the finality of prophethood. He said the law ministry had nothing to do with the controversial amendment. “The law minister could be held responsible had he drafted the bill. He just presented the bill in the house as per the recommendations of the committee,” he explained. He termed the demand of the protesters for his resignation unreasonable and added playing politics on the issue is like an aggression against Khatm-e-Nabuwat. “Maulana Khadim Rizvi is talking about the next general election and playing with the Khatm-e-Nabuwat issue,” the minister added.