LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri has said that he will travel abroad to revive his party’s overseas offices which have been dysfunctional since he resigned as member of the National Assembly in 2004.

Talking to journalists outside his Model Town residence here on Saturday, he said PAT would field its candidates in all by-elections whether it succeeded in forcing the government to introduce reforms in the electoral set-up or not.

“Our party became dysfunctional after I resigned from the assembly in 2004 in protest against the corrupt and tyrannical system. And since we have decided to take part in politics and in the next elections after calling off the Islamabad sit-in, it is necessary to revive the party in Pakistan and abroad.

“So I will visit Canada or other countries, whether for 100 times, to restore the party’s overseas offices and complete other important assignments, such as lectures and events, etc., and will return to the country time to time to address rallies and public meetings,” he explained.

He denied striking any deal with the government to end the sit-in. No member of the Sharif family met or even telephoned him before or after the end of sit-in, Dr Qadri said.

He said the decision to wind up the sit-in was exclusively of his party because it wanted to extend its movement to across the country.

“Last month, I had told Imran Khan that prolonging the sit-in would not be beneficial anymore. Although the sit-in couldn’t topple the government, it created a massive awareness among the masses about rigging, injustice, corrupt system, etc. But Mr Khan did not agree to my suggestion,” he said.

The PAT chief said his party would not leave the political field open for the PML-N, PPP or any other party and take part in all by-elections even if they were held under the existing electoral system. The PAT would continue its struggle for revolution and a corruption-free election commission, he added.

Dr Qadri said the deadlock on PAT’s major demands, including resignation of the Punjab chief minister and setting up of a joint investigation team, still existed.

He condemned terrorist attack on JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2014