Qadri to start movement in response to Nawaz’s call

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek will start a movement, Tehreek-e-Qisas, in response to Tehreek-e-Adl announced by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif, said PAT Chief Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri.

While addressing a news conference along with former chief minister of Azad Kashmir, Sardar Attique Ahmed, Qadri said they would announce the start of their movement on the same day Nawaz will announce the start of his movement. 

The PAT chief further criticised Nawaz’s motto for his movement, asking why the PML-N leader did not think of equality and justice in the case of the Model Town incident of 2014.

During the news conference, Qadri told PAT workers to be prepared with warm clothes for their protests out in the open. He warned of protest, demanding people accused of creating chaos in Model Town surrender by December 31.

The PAT chief also said Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah has admitted on the provincial assembly's floor regarding the Model Town operation. Therefore, the PAT chief added, they would not let the accused remain at large.

Qadri has previously demanded that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Sanaullah step down from their positions by December 31, in light of the Model Town judicial commission report. 

The former chief minister of Azad Kashmir, who was also present on the occasion, said the Model Town incident was the worst in the country’s history and added they were with Qadri in his movement.

According to sources, many religious groups are expected to stand with Qadri during his movement. Moreover, sources added, subsequent protests are also expected in all the provinces of the country and Azad Kashmir.

Model Town report

The Punjab government, at the behest of the Lahore High Court, made the report for the Model Town incident public on December 5.

"The government promised, when the matter was sub-judice in the high court, that it would make the report public and it duly fulfilled its promise," Sanaullah had said while addressing a news conference in Lahore.

The minister, however, repeatedly dismissed the report as defective during the media talk.

"The report is defective in the eye of law as it is based on secondary evidence, which is not admissible as per the Evidence Act," Sanaullah said.

The law minister had accused Qadri of creating a fuss over the Model Town incident report.

"The [Model Town enquiry] report holds no government official responsible for the incident," Sanaullah had said, adding that 'not a single word' in the report holds Shehbaz responsible for the incident.

The provincial minister, in the press conference, said that the report mentions in certain places that PAT workers gave resistance to police, which later became the reason for police action.