LAHORE: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah alleged on Friday the PPP and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) were inciting the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) to hit the streets on the Model Town tragedy only for their interests regarding the 2018 elections.On Friday, PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari met Dr Tahirul Qadri for a second time in December.

“Some hunters are trying to use Allama Qadri for their vested interests pushing him to keep the ruling party engaged with protests so that it does not enter the electoral bout confidently,” Mr Sanaullah said here on Friday.

He said that the opposition parties had pinned their hopes on the Najafi Commission report on Model Town incident and Hudaibiya Papers Mills case but their hopes dashed to the ground after nothing could be established against the Sharifs or the government.

The disqualification of Nawaz Sharif also did not help them as the PML-N’s popularity graph had gone up, he told reporters.

“Now, in frustration, they’re inciting Allama Qadri to give them a ride on his container,” he said, adding that the PAT chief would hopefully smell their designs and avoid becoming a tool in their hands.

Referring to PPP’s and PTI’s stance that they were supporting the PAT to win justice for victims of June 2014 Model Town police raid, he said justice could be win through the justice system and not by taking to the streets.

Mr Sana said that the PAT protest, if held after the “so-called all-party conference” on Saturday would be the last tactic by the opposition against the Punjab government and Shahbaz Sharif, the PML-N nominee for the prime ministerial job in the 2018 polls.

He said the government would not use any force against the protestors.

The motorists, he said, would be provided alternative routes to regulate the traffic with minimum disturbance.

The Punjab law minister told a questioner that Federal Railways Minister Khwaja Saad Rafiq did not say anything against the army and he had rather lauded the incumbent army chief’s role for strengthening democracy.

He said Mr Rafiq’s talked about “pranks” by some people, and not the institution of the army.

He said many of the religious outfits were in contact with the government and that their political tilts would be more visible around the polls. The agreements signed with Islamabad and Lahore protestors were being implemented on a fast pace, he added.

He said the government had agreed to pay Rs100 million compensation to the Model Town tragedy victims but negotiations on the issue broke down when the PAT demanded that the compensation money be channeled through it and paid abroad.

The elections, he said, would be held on time.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2017