Parliamentarians accuse Qadri of addressing foreign audiences

Leaders of different political parties rejected the demands of Minhajul Quran Tahirul Qadri Chief of as unconstitutional and undemocratic.

In an interview with Radio Pakistan‚ Begum Naseem Akhtar of Pakistan Peoples Party said that assemblies cannot be dissolved on the dictation one person. She said that “180 million people have given mandate to the present government and the will of a few thousand people cannot be imposed on the majority”. She said that Tahirul Qadri is a religious figure but there is a lot of contradictions between his words and deeds. She said that Qadri was being supported by forces which were against continuation and prevalence of democracy in the country. She said that the democratic government had allowed TMQ to set up a stage in the federal capital, adding that Qadri had no right to issue undemocratic decrees.

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) said “Tahirul Qadri ‚ has lost his mental balance.” He said that majority of Pakistanis want rule of law and continuation of the democratic dispensation. Demands of Tahirul Qadri are tantamount to subversion of the constitution. He requested the government to initiate necessary punitive actions against the chief of Minhajul Quran. Iqbal said that “Qadri is staging drama for the postponement of elections ‚ which the 180 million people of Pakistan‚ will not tolerate. I ask Tahirul Qadri to not spread anarchy in the country when the general elections are around the corner. I advise Tahirul Qadri to get his party registered with the Election Commission and contest the elections for the fulfillment of his agenda”.

Senator Pervez Rasheed of PML (N) said that if Qadri had uttered anti democratic rhetoric in canada, he would have had been in jail by now. He requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take a suo moto action against Qadri. Khawaja Saad Rafique of PML (N) said that using women and children as human shield by Qadri is a shameful act. Senior political analyst Hasan Askari said that Qadri’s demands are ‘very dangerous’ and opined that the government would have to act carefully.

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi said that there exist a lot of contradictions in the statements and agenda of Tahirul Qadri. He said that “Qadri is reading out a written script on the dictation of somebody. Such kinds of actors come and go but they can no longer enter the corridors of power through back door channels”. He added that figures like Dr Qadri always supported dictators and towed foreign agendas. Commenting on the demands put forth by Qadri, he said that a democratic process is continuing in the country. An independent election commission has been constituted in consensus with all the political parties. “No party has objections on the election commission besides the Supreme Court has also called for holding of elections on time

Liaquat Baloch of Jamaat-e- Islami mocked the posture of Tahirul Qadri saying that Qadri is a day dreamer. “He would have seen the dream regarding the dissolution of the assemblies but the fact is that the governments are still intact”, he said.

Meanwhile International media organizations are granting extensive air time to the protest led by Dr Tahirul Qadri to bring about a revolution in the country. Sit in at Islamabad is making headlines around the globe. BBC termed Qadri’s long march as an important step towards key electoral reforms. Hindustan Times termed Qadri’s long march as an important catalyst for change in Pakistan. CNN said that the motive of the long march is to remove the present regime and install a care taker government. British and French news agencies in their analysis opined that Qadri wants revolutionary changes in the country.