LAHORE: The PML-N has described the multi-party conference convened by Dr Tahirul Qadri as a gathering of the colleagues of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf “doing politics on dead bodies”.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Mashhood said at a press conference on Sunday that even the names of the parties which had attended the conference would be hardly known to ‘Maulana’ Qadri.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Mashood.—File photo

He advised Dr Qadri to wait for the outcome of inquiries into the Model Town incident by an independent judicial commission and a joint investigation team of various agencies, instead of making a hue and cry.

PML-N’s media coordinator Mohammad Mehdi said it was a failed event as the joint declaration had been issued even before the participants had made their suggestions.

He said that except for those who were “part of Musharraf’s sins”, no head of any major political party was in attendance.

In a clear reference to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement whose leaders had attended the conference, Mr Mehdi said the party itself was blamed for being involved in the killing of at least a dozen people daily in Karachi.

Referring to the conference’s demand for the constitution of a Supreme Court bench on the Model Town incident, he said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had already stated on record that the government would not object to an SC commission or a suo motu notice initiated by the apex court.

He asked Dr Qadri to realise the situation since the country had moved forward from the politics of 1990s when there was a chance for alliances like Pakistan Awami Ittehad and Grand Democratic Alliance to work on agendas set by certain quarters.

Mr Mehdi said real political forces, including PML-N, had learnt a lesson from the politics of 1990s and now they did not support any move aimed at derailing the system, a reference to PPP and the Awami National Party which had stayed away from the conference.

Referring to the demand for Shahbaz Sharif’s resignation, Rana Mashhood asked why these elements had not asked for the resignation of Mr Musharraf after the tragic incident of Lal Masjid.

In reply to a question, he said a common thing between Dr Qadri and Imran Khan was that both had changed their stances 14 times over the past six days.

He said the National Accountability Bureau and other institutions were investigating the irregularities allegedly committed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi when they were part of the government.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2014