An 'All Parties Conference' (APC) called by the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) on Saturday condemned the 2014 Model Town incident and the government's alleged move to amend the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat laws.

The APC held the government of Punjab, the Punjab police along with Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif responsible for the Model Town incident, in which 14 people had been killed and 100 others injured when police launched an assault on supporters gathered outside the residence of PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri in Model Town, Lahore.

Leaders of different parties attend APC.— DawnNews
Leaders of different parties attend APC.— DawnNews

"The PML-N is directly complicit in the tragedy," said the joint declaration issued after the conference.

The APC demanded that the people who were responsible for the change in the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat oath should be given strict punishment.

PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira while reading out the declaration said that the APC demands the resignation of Shahbaz and Sanaullah by January 7, or else a protest will be launched.

The APC urged the chief justice of Pakistan to take a suo motu notice of the Model Town incident and ensure an unbiased investigation through a non-partisan Joint Investigation Team (JIT) overseen by a judge.

It demanded that no National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) should be extended to "those who have looted national wealth".

The prime minister's spokesman, PML-N leader Musaddiq Malik, while responding to the APC's demands told DawnNews that the opposition parties should bring a vote of no-confidence against the Punjab chief minsiter in the provincial assembly if they think he has lost confidence and "they will not get more than 10 votes".

He said Shahbaz had not been present in the meeting during which it was decided to remove the barriers around Model Town offices of PAT. He said those accused of involvement in the killings are facing legal proceedings and are being held in jails.

Malik said the PML-N will deal with the situation "legally and constitutionally".

'Blood of innocents unites us'

Addressing the press before the APC commenced, Qadri welcomed the parties who had joined him, claiming that representatives of more than 40 were in attendance.

"The political parties gathered here today have different ideologies and agendas, but have been brought together today on a single point," he said, referring to the Model Town incident.

"The blood of the innocent people killed in the incident is what unites us today," he added.

He also accused ousted premier Nawaz Sharif and his family of "investing in politics" using bribery as a means to buy loyalty and establishing a "political dynasty" that was being dominated by one man.

"You bought your MPAs and MNAs by sending them briefcases full of money. Can you — Nawaz and Shahbaz — deny doing that? Is this your democracy?" he asked as he lashed out at the family.

"I have seen Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's time. I have never been a part of PPP, and yet I can say that political horsetrading never existed in his time," Qadri said.

Moving back to the Model Town incident, Qadri said, "You (the Sharifs) ordered the police to open fire on people and then tell us to go to courts to get justice? Till you are in power, there can be no justice."

"Your character has been revealed in the Panama Papers case and now you are planning to run away and leave Pakistan, which is why you are seeking help from foreign powers," Qadri said while accusing the Sharifs of visiting Saudi Arabia to enlist the help of 'old friends' to get them out of the current situation.

"However, they can not save you now, nothing can save you now," he added.

"You accuse these political parties that have gathered here today to be using each other's support to forward each other's agenda. My question is, who is using Saudi Arabia's support to forward their own agenda, based on their own gains?" the PAT chief asked, adding that Nawaz Sharif, who keeps asking 'mujhe kyun nikala', was sent packing because of his own doings and not because of some grand conspiracy.

"Your past is catching up with you and you are getting what you deserve," he said.

Concluding his address, Qadri told the media that the parties would discuss their future course of action in-camera, after which the media would be briefed about the developments.

Opinion

Editorial

By-election trends
Updated 23 Apr, 2024

By-election trends

Unless the culture of violence and rigging is rooted out, the credibility of the electoral process in Pakistan will continue to remain under a cloud.
Privatising PIA
23 Apr, 2024

Privatising PIA

FINANCE Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb’s reaffirmation that the process of disinvestment of the loss-making national...
Suffering in captivity
23 Apr, 2024

Suffering in captivity

YET another animal — a lioness — is critically ill at the Karachi Zoo. The feline, emaciated and barely able to...
Not without reform
Updated 22 Apr, 2024

Not without reform

The problem with us is that our ruling elite is still trying to find a way around the tough reforms that will hit their privileges.
Raisi’s visit
22 Apr, 2024

Raisi’s visit

IRANIAN President Ebrahim Raisi, who begins his three-day trip to Pakistan today, will be visiting the country ...
Janus-faced
22 Apr, 2024

Janus-faced

THE US has done it again. While officially insisting it is committed to a peaceful resolution to the...