LAHORE: The Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) will be using all its resources to make the protest drive it plans to launch for seeking justice in the Model Town case ‘decisive’.

“We are working to assess and assemble all our might and resources for the protest we’ll be launching after the Jan 7 deadline set for the Punjab chief minister and law minister to resign,” a senior PAT leader told Dawn here on Sunday.

The party deliberately avoided making public the protest strategy during the multi-party conference (MPC) it hosted on Saturday because it thought it better to review and improve some of its aspects after all opposition parties wholeheartedly took ownership of the cause, he said, requesting not to be named.

“We’re making it certain that the protest is result-oriented and decisive.”

The parties signatory to the declaration issued by the MPC are awaiting the PAT to decide details of the protest so that they may see what and how they can contribute to the cause.

“Primarily, it’s up to the Awami Tehreek to decide what kind of protest it should be and what support they expect from us and only then we can give our input and promise support for the cause,” says Jamaat-e-Islami acting emir Liaquat Baloch, who represented the party at the MPC.

He sees the protest inevitable regretting that no government seems to be coming up for providing justice to victims whether it’s Model Town killings, Baldia Factory fire, Akbar Bugti murder or May 12 (Karachi) carnage until the people come out on roads.

The PAT official says that the strategy will be shared with the supporters of the cause on Jan 7 when the steering committee formed at the MPC meets and it will be finalized there and then so that it enjoyed “collective ownership”.Responding to a query, the PAT leader says that they expect and will welcome workers’ level participation of other parties but they will rely on the Tehreek manpower and resources for the protest drive “which will be last for the Model Town case”.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary parties enjoying sway in the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies don’t seem to be in a hurry on getting resolutions calling for resignations of the Model Town case accused, passed from their respective houses as promised in the MPC declaration.

The resolutions are meant to put pressure on the PML-N.

When contacted, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira says the resolution will be got adopted from the Sindh Assembly easily in due time. “It’s not a big issue,” he commented when his attention was drawn towards the fact that the Sindh Assembly, as per its calendar, will meet on Jan 15 while the deadline calling for resignations of Shahbaz Sharif and Rana Sana is Jan 7.

“We’ve seven days at hand while preparations for the resolution may be made within no time.”

Mr Baloch says that he’ll be visiting Peshawar on Jan 4 and then he could discuss the issue with JI parliamentary party in KP Assembly there.

A leader of the KP chapter of the PTI, which rules the province, says though they have not yet received any instructions from the central leadership on the resolution. They’ll implement whatever the direction is passed on to them on the issue.

Published in Dawn, January 1st, 2018