PAT drops protest policy, now seeks ‘legal, political’ solution

• Qadri says it is SC’s constitutional responsibility to take notice of Model Town incident

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri announced Sunday that his party has dropped its protest policy regarding the Model Town incident and will now look for a “legal and political” solution to address the issue.

The Model Town massacre of June 17, 2014, claimed the lives of 14 people and injured 100 others when Punjab police personnel opened fire on unarmed PAT supporters outside the residence of Qadri in Model Town, Lahore.

A judicial inquiry conducted in connection with the incident had indicated towards the involvement Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanauallah and Punjab police for giving the firing orders to the police on that fateful day. The report was compiled by Justice Baqar Najafi and was made public late last year on the orders of the Lahore High Court.

Ever since the report was made public, Qadri had called for nationwide agitation against the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, especially the Punjab government, in a bid to topple the government. The movement culminated in the multi-parties protest gathering at Lahore’s Mall Road on January 17. The PAT-led protest was also attended by leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

During Sunday’s press conference, Qadri hinted towards dropping the strategy of street agitation in favour of a more mainstream approach. “From today onwards, PAT would work on a legal and political strategy to get justice for the families of the Model Town massacre victims.” Nevertheless, he said that this strategy would be adopted for the time being and was not a permanent strategy.

He declared that they would name 14 culprits in their petition and would ensure that they were called to the court. While praising the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar for his excellent work, Qadri urged him to ensure that justice was given to “the widows and orphans” of the Model Town incident. “The powerful have deprived the poor of their rights, who are now looking up to you and the honourable courts to get justice,” he added.

He also praised the CJP for forming a joint investigation team (JIT) against Malir Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rao Anwar in the Naqeebullah murder case and urged him and the government to take a similar action against the “Rao Anwars of Lahore”, in a clear reference to Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Rana Sanaullah.

“Under the constitution, the Supreme Court is bound to take notice of the Rao Anwars of Lahore because the judiciary has to play its role when the administrative machinery of the state fails to do its job,” he said.

Replying to a question, Qadri said, “The state cannot be given the permission to kill the citizens with impunity.” He questioned whether the victims of the Model Town incident were not citizens of this country.

Qadri further said that dozens of officials like Rao Anwar were operating fearlessly in Punjab to oppress law abiding citizens. He also criticised the PML-N President Nawaz Sharif for his policies and called him the country’s worst enemy. “Nawaz now fears that he would also lose his moral legitimacy after receiving a major political blow,” he added. He also predicted the downfall of the N-league in the near future.

Moreover, the PAT chief said that Senate chairman had said that the parliament had failed to carry out its responsibility in the most effective manner. Under these circumstances, the judiciary should take control and steer the country away from a political and administrative disaster. “The system needs to be fixed,” he stressed.