LAHORE: A multi-party conference hosted by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek here on Sunday came out with a five-point charter of demands which declared the ruling party leaders as responsible for the June 17 Model Town police action that claimed 10 lives.

Representatives of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, PML-Q, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Jamaat-i-Islami, Awami Muslim League and All-Pakistan Muslim League and other parties attended the meeting chaired by PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.

A joint statement issued after the conference said protection of life and property of citizens, freedom of expression and right to peaceful protest were imperatives of democracy and warned the federal and provincial governments and the administration that such incidents could not be tolerated and those responsible for it had no right to remain in power.

It demanded that a first information report (FIR) of the incident should be registered on a complaint filed by the Minhajul Quran in place of the one registered with police as the complainant.

The conference called for resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and said the president should make him step down if he did not resign because an impartial inquiry was not possible while he was in power. Other members of the Punjab cabinet who had played any role in the police attack should also resign, it said.

The statement demanded that the officials who monitored the attack should be dismissed and arrested, including the IG, DIG, home secretary, DCO and CCPO.

It said three judges of the Supreme Court should investigate the incident instead of the judicial commission set up by the Lahore High Court. The proposed commission should be empowered to summon the prime minister and other leaders, if need be, it said.

The conference extended its full support to the army in the Operation Zarb-i-Azb against terrorists in North Waziristan and pledged to help the displaced people.

Talking to reporters earlier, Dr Qadri termed the Model Town incident state terrorism committed by the Punjab government.

MQM leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said his party believed in changing the system and not the government and would raise its voice at all forums.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2014