ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad tried to lead his party’s Kashmir Day rally on Tuesday to the residence of pre-PCO Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry but retreated after clashes with police.

Qazi sahib asked the estimated 1,500 Jamaat’s workers to disperse after they had battled their way to the road leading to the Judges Colony.

They first broke through the police barricade raised at the parade ground in front of the parliament building.

Police built the formidable barricade after the JI chief announced at the start of the rally at China Chowk that he would lead it to the Judges Colony where Justice Chaudhry is living since being laid off on November 3.

Soon after the announcement, a heavy contingent of police in riot gear and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) arrived at the parade ground to intercept the procession.

The police parked the APCs and buses on the road and stood behind iron barricades.

After an exchange of harsh words with the law enforcers, the procession started pelting police with stones and later pushed aside the police vehicles to clear their way.

At one stage, they tried to overturn an APC but the attempt was foiled by the police. Some vehicles including those belonging to the police were damaged during the clash.

Policemen used batons and fired tear gas shells to disperse the rally participants who however regrouped after each attack.

At one point they pushed the police back and the procession resumed its march towards the Judges Colony only to be stopped in front of the Balochistan House, where heavy contingent of police in riot gear was deployed behind iron barricades and barbed wires.

There the Jamaat chief stopped the party activists from battling the police further and delivered a speech supporting the deposed chief justice and asked his party workers to disperse.

Later, he told Dawn that he had asked the police not to provoke the participants of the procession as they would remain peaceful.

He said no one from the procession had pelted the police with stones and no baton charge or tear gas shell was fired by the police.

A senior police officer told Dawn that the JI chief cooperated with law-enforcement agencies after reaching the Balochistan House and decided not to enter the Judges Colony.

“Only because of his cooperation, the police have decided not to register any case against the leaders, workers and activists of the JI for creating law and order situation, attacking police and damaging official vehicles,” he added.