Pakistan: Qadri’s APC

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Practically every party had sympathised with Pakistan Awami Tehrik over the killing of its activists. Interestingly, not all these parties attended Qadri’s All Parties Conference. Parliamentary parties like PTI, PML-Q and JI which are not reconciled to the results of last elections were however there. The MQM was presumably looking for an opportunity to put pressure on federal government which has continued to ignore it. The APC provided these parties an occasion to understand the thinking of PAT leadership and weigh the possibility of forming a united front in future. The APC also attracted a number of political castaways who desperately wave at every passing vessel irrespective of its destination. The flip flopping Tahirul Qadri once again told media that while the APC was called to seek political support against the killing of PAT activists, overthrowing the government was still an important part of his programme.

The PTI was the largest parliamentary party to attend the APC. The party’s core committee is divided over whether to use the forum of Parliament for electoral reforms or go for an all-out confrontation, unmindful of where it leads to. Leaders of the PTI’s Punjab chapter have talked about resignations by all party parliamentarians at an appropriate time. Imran Khan who was authorised to take the final decision gave a call at Bahawalpur for storming Islamabad with a million march on August 14. Was PTI representative scouting for possible help from PAT?

What Imran Khan fails to understand is that Tahirul Qadri is out to destabilise the system. What remains to be seen is whether he is doing this on account of personal idiosyncrasies or he is acting as a pawn in someone else’s game. It is the doubtful politics of the man which led parties like PPP, ANP, the Balochistan nationalists and others to avoid the APC. It would have been wiser for Khan not to touch Qadri with a barge pole.