Sheikh Rashid joins list of leaders supporting Dr Qadri's demands on Model Town incident

Published December 10, 2017
Sheikh Rashid and Dr Tahirul Qadri address the media after a meeting at PAT headquarters in Lahore on Dec 10. —DawnNews
Sheikh Rashid and Dr Tahirul Qadri address the media after a meeting at PAT headquarters in Lahore on Dec 10. —DawnNews

Awami League chief Sheikh Rashid on Sunday joined a growing list of political leaders who are backing Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri's demands following the release of Justice Baqar Najafi report on the Model Town incident.

"Dr Tahirul Qadri has finally won a war against oppression and brutality. But it is only half a victory," Sheikh Rashid said after meeting Dr Qadri in Lahore.

He predicted that the PML-N government would fall before March 30 and the politics of the Sharif family would come to an end.

"On the Model Town incident, all parties minus Nawaz Sharif are united," he said while answering a question on whether an alliance was on the cards, clarifying that this was different from an electoral or political alliance.

Dr Qadri repeated his demand for the resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and formation of a Panama-like joint investigation team (JIT) over the Model Town incident.

"Despite PAT not presenting evidence and witnesses, Justice Baqar Najafi held Shahbaz Sharif and Rana Sanaullah responsible for the Model Town tragedy," Dr Qadri said while speaking to the media, claiming that the Sharif brothers planned the attack together.

He demanded Rana Sanaullah, Shahbaz Sharif and the bureaucrats and officer involved in the incident resign and a Panama-like JIT be formed where PAT can present its witnesses and evidence.

The leader warned that if they did not resign, it was the right of the party to kick them out of power democratically and peacefully.

PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi are currently meeting Dr Qadri and are expected to speak to the media later in the evening.

PAT headquarters have been buzzing with political activity with the PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari being the first high profile leader to visit Dr Qadri to extend support in the party's struggle for justice for the victims of Model Town incident.

On Saturday, Pak Sarzameen Party Chairman Mustufa Kamal and a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf delegation comprising Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Jehangir Tareen visited Dr Qadri, lending their support.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, however, dismissed the ongoing activities at the Model Town residence of PAT chief, saying on Saturday “When you add zero to zero, you get zero as the answer.”

Opinion

Editorial

Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...
Wheat protests
Updated 01 May, 2024

Wheat protests

The government should withdraw from the wheat trade gradually, replacing the existing market support mechanism with an effective new one over the next several years.
Polio drive
01 May, 2024

Polio drive

THE year’s fourth polio drive has kicked off across Pakistan, with the aim to immunise more than 24m children ...
Workers’ struggle
Updated 01 May, 2024

Workers’ struggle

Yet the struggle to secure a living wage — and decent working conditions — for the toiling masses must continue.