ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Dr Tahirul Qadri said that his party would distribute sacrificial meat among people affected by recent floods and persons displaced by the army operation in North Waziristan.

Addressing the participants of his party’s sit-in here on Sunday, Dr Qadri said it would be the first and perhaps the last Eid in the country’s history celebrated at the Constitution Avenue.

Dr Qadri invited the people of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to offer Eid prayers at the sit-in.

Also read: PTI, PAT urged to allow workers to celebrate Eid with families

“I invite the residents of the twin cities, including army personnel, lawyers, media representatives, members of civil society and police officials, to offer Eid prayers along with me at 8am,” he said.

A few animals would be sacrificed ‘symbolically’ at the Constitution Avenue and hundreds of others at Dhoke Kala Khan, near the expressway, because “we don’t want to create unhygienic conditions at the Constitution Avenue”, he said.

“We will bring cooked meat for the participants of the sit-in, while women supporters will prepare dishes at the venue,” he said.

Although the PAT chief has allowed thousands of his followers to celebrate Eid with families in their native towns, hundreds of people belonging to several districts stayed at the Constitution Avenue to celebrate the festival there.

Some PAT supporters said it was not easy for them to decide to celebrate Eid in such difficult circumstances but it would be a memorable Eid for them.

“We are struggling to create awareness among the masses about their rights and we are hopeful that our struggle will make a major difference in the next elections,” they said.

Addressing his supporters, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan reiterated that he would not leave the sit-in till the prime minister resigned.

“Mian Sahib, you can take some more time, a month or two, but eventually you have to resign because the nation is not ready to accept a ‘fake prime minister’ who got himself elected through massive rigging in last year’s elections,” he said.

He announced to offer Eid prayers behind Dr Qadri.

Earlier, PPP Senator Rehman Malik, who is a member of the parliamentary jirga mediating between the government and the protesting parties, told reporters after meeting the PAT chief that the jirga members would meet the prime minister to discuss “developments” in the dialogue process.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2014