LAHORE: Pledging to topple the government within weeks, Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Thursday asked the law-enforcers not to obey “illegitimate” orders of the “corrupt” rulers, a move being interpreted by the government as treason for attempting to instigate the police to rebel against the government.

“The constitutional and democratic revolution will materialize within a few weeks and won’t take years and months,” he reassured his followers through a press conference here.

He said final date and procedure of the revolution would be announced within days.

Flanked by PML-Q, Sunni Ittehad Council and Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen leaders, he announced forming ‘revolutionary councils from province down to the union council level to manage affairs of the country after the revolution.

Asks police to rebel against rulers; minister terms the call an act of treason

He asked the law-enforcers to show allegiance to the state and law of land and not to Raiwind, the family residence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“Either stop serving the corrupt rulers or get ready for accountability,” said the religious scholar, who had got Canadian citizenship a few years ago and returned from the country of his choice on June 23 to lead the ‘revolution’.The police must change its behaviour otherwise the masses would drag them along with the rulers in the streets and there would be no one to protect them, he warned.

He told a questioner that his revolution did not depend on tsunami, a reference to Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Mashhood said instigating the police to disobey orders of the government is an act of treason.

“…the Maulana is creating anarchy at the behest of foreign forces and stressing police not to obey government orders is treason.”

He said the Maulana would soon go back to Canada along with the “coffin of revolution” and Chaudhry brothers would get nothing out of the whole episode.

He said the way the Maulana talked was “uncivilized” and a violation of moral values.

He said that the Chaudhry brothers were trying to make alive their dead politics by becoming spokesmen of Tahirul Qadri.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2014