LAHORE: The Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) attracted a fairly good number of people to its Wednesday’s public gathering at Istanbul Chowk on The Mall, where its chief lambasted the Sharifs and demanded justice in the Model Town case.

“Nawaz Sharif has been shown the door from the Prime Minister House but Shahbaz Sharif will be executed for his involvement in the June 17 incident that claimed 14 lives,” thundered Tahirul Qadri.

In a tone dripping with characteristic bitterness, the PAT chief largely dwelt on the oft-repeated issues and reiterated it’s only a matter of time before Shahbaz Sharif would be executed.

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Flanked by the second tier leadership of the PTI, he also took on the judiciary: “The chief justice of the Lahore High Court must share any compulsion or pressure preventing him from making Justice Baqar Najafi Commission’s report public. Why has the judiciary been sitting on the report and proceedings of the case? The families of those killed on June 17, 2014 deserve to know what is written in the report and who is responsible, if any, for the carnage.”

The criticism came despite the fact that the PAT lawyers in the morning had assured the Lahore High Court that he would not target the judiciary in his speech.

There had been controversy in the last two days as the head of the traders association of The Mall moved court against blockade of the road and the court stayed preparation for “dharna” on Tuesday.

The PAT initially agreed to change the venue but later withdrew the offer and stuck to the original venue of Istanbul Chowk.

Mr Qadri berated the Sharifs who, he alleged, introduced the politics of corruption. “It were they who were pampered by a military dictator and trampled the public mandate when they conspired against Benazir Bhutto’s government, and when they purchased MPs and introduced money in politics. How they can cry out against something which they had done for more than three decades, he said.

He further told the crowd that included women and children that after the killings the official excuse of removing barriers did not stand logical scrutiny. “Police fired at my doorstep which had no barrier. It is only an excuse to save the Sharif brothers. Then Shahbaz Sharif himself appointed the commission and pledged that he would quit if his name figured in any wrongdoing. Now when the commission has squarely held him responsible for the bloodletting, why he is avoiding making the report public,” he questioned.

With siblings of those killed on that day standing beside him on the stage, the PAT chief told the charged audience that it was not the last protest... it’s just the beginning. The next event would be held in Faisalabad after Eidul Azha, followed by gatherings in Multan and Rawalpindi.

Sheikh Rashid also joined him on the stage and hit out at the PML-N leaders.

Earlier, the Lahore High Court allowed the Pakistan Awami Tehreek to hold a sit-in at Istanbul Chowk (as a one-time exception) with a direction to terminate the gathering before 10pm. Justice Mamoon Rashid Sheikh observed that since the arrangements had already been made by PAT to hold the event, “I am inclined to allow respondent No 8 and the affectees to hold the sit-in as a one-time exception and not to be quoted as a precedent.”

Barrister Syed Ali Zafar and Advocate Ishtiaq Ahmad Chaudhry appeared before the court to represent PAT during hearing of a petition filed by Mall Road Traders’ Association President Naeem Mir.

Advocate General of Punjab Shakilur Rehman Khan represented the government. CCPO Amin Wains and DIG Operations Dr Haider Ashraf accompanied him in court.

In his arguments, the AGP stated that PAT and the affectees of Model Town incident had boycotted the proceedings of the inquiry held by Justice Ali Baqar Najafi, therefore, it did not lie in their mouth to demand release of the report.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2017