LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) central leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Friday the Sharif brothers should keep in mind that their rule was a blessing of lawyers’ movement aimed at restoration of democracy and independent judiciary in the country.

He was speaking at a condolence reference held by the Insaf Lawyers Forum in Karachi Shuhada Hall of the Lahore High Court Bar Association for the lawyers killed in Daska.

Mr Qureshi said the black coats had defended Sharif brothers and got them acquitted of the plane hijacking. He said the lawyers were the protectors of law and conversant to people’s fundamental rights.

He said Daska-like violent incidents were a matter of concern for society but the perpetrators were allowed to roam freely. He said the Daska incident exposed political influence in police force. He said the chief minister had promised a fair inquiry into Daska killings but the people had no confidence in him.

Mr Qureshi said the interrogators of the Model Town incident also failed to fix responsibility on guilty officials.

About the local government elections recently held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said the PTI was ready for re-poll in army’s supervision. He said success on more than 50 percent seats showed public trust in the PTI.

Mr Qureshi also dispelled an impression about the differences among party leaders. He said internal conflicts were not new for any party in the country. People were known to not only the differences between Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his father Asif Zardari but also the story of Sharif brothers’ differences, he added.

He said the people saw Imran Khan as an alternate leadership. Response to the PTI by the public in LG polls was historic, he added.

The PTI leader also criticised the government for ignoring killings of Muslims brothers in Burma. He said Mr Khan was the first Pakistani leader who raised voice for the oppressed Muslim brotherhood.

PTI Punjab organiser Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said those were regarded powerful people in Pakistan, who mocked the law. He said the rulers had adopted a policy of “kill people to rule people”. He said people were being killed daily in the country but nobody was there to arrest the killers.

The former governor expressed his sympathy with the families of the deceased lawyers and said his party stood by them.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2015

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