Qadri threatens to spoil polls if ‘revolution’ obstructed

Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran (TMQ) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri has once again declared the present Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) unconstitutional, saying he would ‘destroy’ elections if it became a barrier in the way of ‘revolution’.

Addressing a public gathering on Sunday‚ Qadri said he wanted to restore the system which was the dream of the country’s founder.

He said the declaration he had signed with the government during his sit-in in Islamabad would bring positive changes in the country. He said the country had been thrown into dark and that he would bring the light of revolution with the power of the people. He vowed to continue his struggle to safeguard the rights of the deprived segments of the society. He said the voice of the poor could not be suppressed.

Last week, the TMQ chief had moved the Supreme Court for the reformation of the ECP, but a three-member bench sent him packing. The SC had said the cleric he had no locus standi in the matter.

The rejection of the petition by the SC had left Qadri high and dry, as evident from his outburst against the very judges he had praising ever since he returned to Pakistan this December.

Although Qadri had tolerated the SC’s salvo at him in the first two days of hearing, the cleric lost his cool on the third day when the bench did not discuss the merit of his petition and kept questioning his intentions and patriotism for being a dual national.

In his angst, Qadri resorted to strict remarks against the CJP, but the bench stopped short of issuing a contempt notice to the firebrand scholar.

In its short order, the three-member bench maintained that Dr Qadri failed in proving the eligibility of his petition.

The court also stated that Qadri could not for elections, but could exercise his right to vote.

During the course of hearing, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had said there were more than 100 registered political parties, 342 elected members of the National Assembly and several parties that were not part of the assemblies, yet only Qadri had reservations over the ECP.

The CJP had asked Qadri how his rights were being infringed upon, adding that he would have to prove the purity of his intentions since he had suddenly appeared on the national stage.

The chief justice had observed that the petition had been submitted in a personal capacity and the petitioner was not eligible to contest elections, therefore he must prove his right to petition.

Munir Peracha, the ECP counsel, had told the bench that Qadri wanted to delay the elections for two years and he had also expressed his intentions during his public gathering held at Minar-e-Pakistan Lahore on December 23, 2012.