LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Q senior leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said the party wants a united opposition front for changing the governance system in vogue and is approaching various political players to achieve the target.

“For changing the present system the entire opposition, including Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri, should essentially be on one page,” Pervaiz Elahi told the media here on Sunday.

“My party is playing a positive role and is in contact with various political leaders,” he told a questioner after a Q League elders’ meeting held here to discuss a future strategy for the party in current circumstances.

Answering another question, he said the Q League had struck alliance with Dr Tahirul Qadri for the betterment of the masses and it would go and knock at every door for ridding the people of the “rigged government”.

About the government’s allegation that the opposition wanted derailment of democracy, he said what sort of democracy this was in which heirs of 15 Model Town victims were not getting justice and ordinary citizens were crying for electricity, gas and employment.

Instead of nabbing the killers of Model Town tragedy, he alleged, houses of the injured persons were being raided to pressurize them for securing statements in favour of the rulers. Even an FIR was not being registered on the complaint of the victim party, he said.

Mr Elahi said the Model Town tragedy was an ample proof of the defective present system and the failure of the government. “What kind of democracy is this where the chief minister orders massacring of the people and not a single responsible official is nabbed?”

He said the continuation of the present “illegal” government was not in the interest of the nation and the country. “We are making efforts for improving the system for the betterment of the people, national security, national interest and justice.”

The PML-Q leader said his party would continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces.

He said the rulers were avoiding actions that could create hurdles in the ongoing army operation in North Waziristan and rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2014