LHC order is a step towards victory: Tahir-ul-Qadri

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek Chief Tahir-ul-Qadri said on Thursday that the Lahore High Court’s verdict, asking Punjab government to make Model Town incident’s report public, is a step towards victory.

He remarked this during a press conference, which he addressed after the court’s order. "Today's verdict is a slap on the faces of the murderers."

PAT chief said that since three-and-a-half years no progress was made in the Model Town incident, in which at least 14 people were killed and 100 others injured in the police action on June 17, 2014.

“But we bear no ill-will towards judiciary,” he said.

Model Town incident was the worst case of butchery, said Tahir-ul-Qadri, adding that Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif had said he would resign if held responsible for the incident. 

He also said that a lot more than 14 people were killed in the incident. "Many bodies had disappeared," he alleged, adding the case was registered against 126 people but no action was taken against them.

On the issue of Nawaz Sharif’s ouster from the office of prime minister, Qadri said that only disqualification took place but Nawaz's properties were not confiscated.

The PAT chief demanded that those named in the case should be placed on the Exit Control List. Already many people have been sent abroad for hiding, he added. 

"If you don't make the report public, it will be considered contempt of court," he said. 

If you haven't been held responsible in the commission's report then why are you hiding it, he asked the Punjab government, adding "What is the point of hiding the report?"

The report should be handed over those who were affected by the incident, he demanded."The poor can't rest until the system of exploitation is finished."

The LHC ordered the Punjab government on Thursday to make public the judicial inquiry report into the Model Town killings.

The order was read out by Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi while hearing a petition by the families of those injured in the 2014 clashes with police in Lahore to make the inquiry report public. 

The petitions have been filed by the families of victims killed in Model Town during an ‘anti-encroachment’ operation conducted by police against the PAT headquarters.