January 16, 2013
<h1> Pakistan Protest Leader Demands Electoral Reforms</h1><img src="http://www.voanews.com/App_Themes/VOA_en-US/img/colorLogo.gif"/>Firebrand Muslim cleric Tahir-ul Qadri said Wednesday his supporters would not abandon their sit-in on the streets of Pakistan's capital until the country implements his demands for clean and transparent national elections.<br /> <br /> In a three-hour speech to thousands of supporters camped out in front of the nation's parliament, Tahir-ul Qadri on Wednesday accused the government of deep-seated corruption and demanded that all the nation's political assemblies be dissolved.<br /> <br /> "The corrupt status quo must go. Not allowed," said Qadri. "The status quo must go, the status quo must go. Go."<br /> <br /> The cleric, a Canadian-Pakistani who burst onto Pakistan's political scene last month, is also demanding the installation of a caretaker government that would introduce electoral reforms in order to bar what he calls the "corrupt" existing political elite from returning to power.<br /> <br /> Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira on Wednesday mocked Qadri's finger-wagging rhetoric and questioned the legality of Qadri's demands. Kaira said national elections would go ahead under the rules of the country's constitution.<br /> <br /> It is unclear what will happen if Qadri's demands are not met. Lawmaker Ayaz Amir says the government is in a difficult position.<br /> <br /> "Either we have a mini-Tiananmen Square, which means the government resorts to violence to disperse the protestors, but (the) government I don’t see doing that -- it is too weak, too confused," said Amir. "It can't, I don’t think, afford the risk."<br /> <br /> Supporter Abdul Rehman, one of some 50,000 staging the occupation of Islamabad's main avenue, which began on Monday, instead called on the anti-government party of Imran Khan to join the protest.<br /> <br /> "I think Imran Khan (should) join this session, join the crowd, and come and hand shake with Qadri-saab and continue this session," said Rehman.<br /> <br /> But Shafqat Mehmood, a spokesman for Khan's opposition PTI party, said it was unlikely that Qadri's street tactics would attract opposition political parties, even if they agreed with his message.<br /> <br /> "What we believe is that real change can only come through elections, and that is our difference with Mr. Qadri -- that we don’t believe that street pressure should be used to create change. But change should come through the electoral process," said Mehmood. <br /> <br /> <div> <div class="htmlPhg"> <ul class="htmlPhgList"> <li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/7C1092EB-8F71-4403-9B3B-B21531E218FA_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> Supporters of Tahir-ul Qadri gather during their fourth day of protest in Islamabad, Pakistan, January 17, 2013. </div> </div></li><li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/2377F07E-FE7D-48D1-AAEF-D76261076104_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> Supporters of Tahir-ul Qadri listen to him while standing in the rain during the fourth day of protest in Islamabad, Pakistan, January 17, 2013. </div> </div></li><li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/061A2847-9C9F-4358-9053-A7E4BC54DDB6_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> A supporter of Tahir-ul Qadri waves a Pakistani flag as he walks on a container on the third day of protests in Islamabad, Pakistan, January 16, 2013. </div> </div></li><li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/E08A3CFC-637F-453E-871F-A260EF8020F8_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> Supporters of Tahir-ul Qadri wait for him on the third day of protests in Islamabad, Pakistan, January 16, 2013. </div> </div></li><li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/68FA5ED1-321D-426C-BC18-4C14ADF9C925_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> Thousands of supporters of Tahir-ul-Qadri participate in an anti-government rally in Islamabad, Pakistan, January 16, 2013. </div> </div></li><li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/93ED3B96-B824-4A1C-A6E5-8FC834865018_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> A supporter of cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri enters her tent carrying an image of him, while she and others camp near the parliament, during an anti-government rally in Islamabad, Pakistan, January 16, 2013. </div> </div></li><li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/24D43EAE-9C1D-4A21-A2D9-052F5AB00431_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> Supporters of Tahir-ul Qadri call for democracy during a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan, January 15, 2013. (S. Behn/VOA) </div> </div></li><li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/D51A8ECD-D106-4845-A412-9E3E149421AD_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> A supporters of cleric Tahir-ul Qadri, center, places a sticker on his forehead bearing the image of Tahir-ul-Qadri, during a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan, January 15, 2013. </div> </div></li><li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/492A2A37-AB98-4903-B75F-B6DFC42DF119_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> Supporters of Tahir-ul Qadri take part in a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan, January 14, 2013. </div> </div></li><li class="htmlPhgListItem"><img class="htmlPhgImage" data-src="http://gdb.voanews.com/48DA9BBA-EB1F-48ED-ABC9-3143C73AC76A_mwdynamic_mhdynamic_s.jpg" src="/img/spacer.gif" alt="" /><div class="htmlPhgCaption"> <div class="htmlPhgCaptionInner"> Female police officers stand guard ahead of a protest called by cleric Tahir-ul Qadri, Islamabad, Pakistan, January 14, 2013. </div> </div></li> </ul> <div class="htmlPhgFilmstrip"> <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgFilmstripBackward">◀</a> <div class="htmlPhgFilmstripContainer"></div> <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgFilmstripForward">▶</a> </div> <div class="htmlPhgControlPanel"> <div class="htmlPhgControlsLeft"> <span class="htmlPhgControlsSlide"> <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgPrev">⏪</a> <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgPlay">▶</a> <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgPause">||</a> <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgNext">⏩</a> </span> <span class="htmlPhgCount">1/10</span> </div> <div class="htmlPhgControlsRight"> <a href="javascript:void(0)" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgMore">...</a> <a target="_self" href="javascript:void(0)" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgFullscreenBtn">⇱</a> <a href="http://www.voanews.com/emailtofriend/photogallery/1583234.html?isflashembed=true" onclick="return openSharePopup('http://www.voanews.com/emailtofriend/photogallery/1583234.html?isflashembed=true')" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgShare" target="_blank"> </a> <a href="javascript:void(0)" title="Disable Captions" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgDisableCaption">Disable Captions</a> <a href="javascript:void(0)" title="Enable Captions" class="htmlPhgBtn htmlPhgEnableCaption">Enable Captions</a> </div> </div> </div> <script id="phgdde0a9d5e2654206afb0692d11e4c32e_template_DynamicScript1" type="text/javascript" src="/js_6.13.0.31653.04/custom/HtmlPhotogallery.x.js"> </script> <script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ HtmlPhotogallery({ containerSelector: ".htmlPhg" ,width: "640px" ,height: "392px" ,renderAsClientFullSize: false ,randomOrder: false ,livetrackImgUrl: "http://livetracker.voanews.eu/counter.lt?PageType=8&RecordId=1583234&SiteId=415&r=740256860&it=0&pd=20130116074600&url=" }); /*]]>*/ </script></div> <br /> Pakistan's parliament is due to complete its five-year constitutional term in mid-March, and new national polls are expected to be held in May. If there is no disruption, it would be the first time a democratically elected government completed its term and transferred power to another democratically elected government.<br /> <br /> Some suspect that Pakistan's powerful military may be behind Qadri. The religious leader represents the Barelvi sect of Islam, which emphasizes moderation and tolerance, and he heads a Muslim charity that has branches both inside and outside Pakistan.<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.voanews.com/content/Pakistan-protest-leader-demands-electoral-reforms/1584869.html"/><meta name="syndication-source" content="http://www.voanews.com/content/Pakistan-protest-leader-demands-electoral-reforms/1584869.html"/><img src="http://livetracker.voanews.eu/counter.lt?PageType=256&RecordId=1584869&SiteId=415&r=740256860&it=0&pd=20130116143402&url=ArticleID1584869" alt="" style="border:none;" height="1" width="1">
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