After the expiry of 48-hour deadline which he gave to the government on Saturday, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri extended the deadline till 5pm today (Tuesday), vowing to hold an “Awami Parliament” (People’s Parliament).
He inviting people from all walks of life to come to participate in the “Inqilab March”, saying time has come to change the fate of poor masses and people must come to attend this Awami Parliament. According to Qadri, the Awami Parliament would take the final decision regarding the future of his Inqilab March and he would accept its verdict. Announcing to expand his “Revolution March” to all parts of the country through protest demos and sit-ins, the cleric raised serious objections on the democratic practices, rule of law, supremacy of constitution and human rights in the country.
Addressing charged and emotional party workers and diehard devotees on a road adjacent to Aabpara Market, Qadri said all groups and sects, including Sunnis, Shias, Deobandis, Barelvis, Ahle Hadith, as well as seculars and nationalists from any location or ethnicity would kick-start protests from Monday evening onward by staging sit-ins across the country. Qadri reminded the government about the 48-hour deadline he gave on Saturday for the acceptance of his charter of demands.
The PAT chief questioned the legitimacy of the present democratic set-up which, according to him, was the result of rigging and corruption. He lambasted the governments – central, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan – over alleged violation of rule of law, supremacy of constitution, democratic norms, human rights in all parts of the country. He labelled the current system brutal and ruthless, saying it was thriving on corruption and had failed miserably to give justice to the poor masses. Qadri vowed to leave no stone unturned until the accomplishment of his mission of revolution.
“Change in the system is possible only through the success of revolution,” he noted, adding that no justice will come till Sharif brothers are in power. Qadri alleged that the government had informed him of threats to his life from several different terrorist groups, yet had “jammed” his car, making it impossible to ride it to the meeting venue from his nearby container house. He explained to the “western democratic world” that people were out on the streets due to “a complete lack of justice”.
While raising voice in favour of his reform agenda, the fiery cleric stuck to his demands of dissolution of the national and provincial assemblies, formation of a national government to undertake immediate democratic reforms and immediate resignations and arrest of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif over the Model Town killings. At one time, an emotional Qadri praised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf over its chief, Imran’s call of civil disobedience, claiming that the PAT and PTI movements were heading towards the same goal. He applauded PTI’s workers commitments to the cause.
“I say zindabad to the PTI workers...they are our brothers. I congratulate Imran on announcing a two-day deadline,” he said. He also praised the “faith, discipline, unity” and resolve of the “Inqilab Marchers”. “If anybody wants to see true picture of three principles of Quaid-i-Azam, he or she should see the Iqilab marchers and visit the site of sit-in organised by the PAT to achieve revolution,” Qadri said. “Everyone has praised the discipline and resolve of the Inqilab March.” The PAT chief reiterated his stance by saying that he and his workers would not leave until the success of “revolution”. He criticised the Sindh government “for its inefficiencies in addressing needs of the common people, particularly minorities”.
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