LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri has
warned Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and provincial Law Minister
Rana Sanaullah to resign by Dec 31 or face a protest movement that
would continue till the two lawmakers are ousted.
Addressing
traders and members of civil society, Dr Qadri announced: “If these
two, along with the other accused government officials, do not resign
and submit to the law, the PAT would announce the schedule of its final
showdown.”
The PAT chief was of the view that former
prime minister Nawaz Sharif was fomenting lawlessness in the country by
railing against the judiciary. This was because Mr Sharif could not
obtain a favourable verdict from the courts, he said, wondering why
state institutions had not yet reacted to this language of revolt.
“After
December, the final round will begin because no more delays can be
tolerated in justice for those killed in Model Town three years ago,”
the PAT chief said.
Warns he will launch a movement if they don’t
So far, all major opposition political parties in the
country have announced unconditional support for the PAT’s cause and
have promised to stand by it. Sharing details, he claimed that the
provincial law minister, the inspector general of police, the home
secretary and representatives of the chief minister had held a meeting
earlier in June 2014, and decided that they would use violence against
PAT members who tried to stop them from removing barriers.
How
could CM Sharif distance himself from what had happened that fateful
day, Dr Qadri asked, saying that it was strange that if the CM had
ordered disengagement, why weren’t his orders taken seriously? He asked
if it was Mr Sanaullah or the home secretary who had refused to obey CM
Sharif’s orders, and said that these questions required clarification.
Earlier,
the PAT chief met delegations of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (Noorani)
led by Qari Zawar Bahadur, Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (Niazi) and former
chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan Mehdi Shah, who visited him to
express their support for the PAT’s cause. All of them had reportedly
assured support in case the PAT needed it.
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry announced his support for Dr Qadri’s protest which, he said, was for a just cause.
