LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri has rejected the judicial commission formed by the government to probe the Model Town tragedy.

“No one from our side will appear before the commission set up to cover up the tragedy,” he told a press conference here through video link from Canada.

“I also request the Lahore High Court judges not to become part of the commission as tens of millions of rupees are being offered to people for testifying against us,” he alleged.

He also rejected the financial compensation the chief minister had announced for the heirs of each deceased. He said his party would look after families of the deceased workers and would provide education, food and accommodation.

Referring to the FIR registered by police against his son Husain Mohyyuddin and other PAT leaders, he said, “those responsible for the ‘mass killings’ had also got registered a case against us and formed a commission to give us justice!”

He also alleged that attempts were being made to tamper with the hospital record for proving that the casualties were caused by the firing of PAT activists and not police. Dr Qadri said had there been weapons piled up in the Minhajul Quran Secretariat the police should have showed them through the media to all the people and he would have banned his party throughout the world.

“How can a person who has been preaching against terrorism, extremism and intolerance allow his organisation to be involved in such an activity?”

He said by killing the innocent people the rulers attempted to frighten the PAT workers, civil society and other political parties for restraining them from taking to streets to seek their rights.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2014