LAHORE: Tehreek Minhajul Quran chief Tahirul Qadri says some of the accused in the Model Town shooting are being given important positions by the Imran Khan government.

“I am lost for words to greet Imran Khan on this achievement,” he told a special meeting held to review legal proceedings in the Model Town case.

A legal team representing families of victims briefed Qadri on the petitions being heard by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC), Lahore High Court and Supreme Court.

Qadri joined the meeting through Skype from Canada.

He recalled that ensuring justice for victims of Model Town tragedy was the main point of Imran Khan’s election campaign. But, he lamented, accused officials had been given better offices and promotions by the PTI government.

He said at least 125 activists of the Tehreek, who had protested against the Model Town killings, had been sentenced and were serving jail terms in various jails of the province for the crimes they did not commit.

He bemoaned that Muhammad Sultan, one of the imprisoned activists, was suffering from brain tumor and despite clear instructions by doctors for his early therapy, bureaucratic hurdles were delaying his shifting to Karachi for treatment. “On the other hand, convicts in corruption cases are being sent abroad with full protocol. I am short of words for greeting Imran Khan on this magnanimous change in the style of governance.”

Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Imran Khan’s PTI had jointly held four-month-long sit-in In Islamabad in 2014 against the PML-N government. At that time, the two leaders were labelled as ‘political cousins’ by their followers.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2020