It was a state of shock that kept me from writing on this ghastly tragedy before now. June 17, 2014 will go down as one of the blackest, bloodiest days in Pakistan’s history. Everyone who had access to a television must have seen the police firing and killing of civilians with ruthless, direct aim. Sixteen lives, including those of two women and one unborn, have been extinguished and about 85 injured. This all happened in broad daylight, in front of the television cameras, fully recorded with no way to hide. The Minhajul Quran establishment was riddled with bullet marks and the mosque inside also had bullet holes. Even the bedrooms of Mr Qadri’s house showed bullet marks and shattered windowpanes. Was this all because the police wanted to remove the regular speed check barriers? No. This reasoning has no credibility. The obvious reason was to scare Mr Qadri and those who support his programme of reforms. Most regrettable was the ignorance being shown by the Khadim-e-Ala (Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Shahbaz Sharif). How can such a ghastly event take place under the nose of the CM with his camp office 200 yards away in Model Town, and continue for hours without his knowledge? The Khadim-e-Ala (Supreme Servant), as he likes to call himself, has now been branded Qatil-e-Ala (Supreme Murderer). All the good work that he may have done in the last six years has now been drowned in the blood of his own countrymen, women and children. Ignorance or involvement, he must resign in either case, and then be brought to justice. The police mafia employed seems to have closely studied the actions of Brigadier General Dyer in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, and perhaps taken inspiration from the more recent killing saga under the supervision of Narendra Modi in Indian Gujarat. Dyer, during his trial, said he would “do it again” if necessary due to his loyalty to the crown! Narendra Modi rode the wave of hatred and elevated himself to the Prime Minister (PM) of India. Our ‘monarchs’ have taken inspiration from them and, of course, have practiced a royal style of governance and living for a long time. It is said that Mr Nawaz Sharif has a personal collection of all Mughal emperors’ photographs. I do not know how true this is but his style indicates his source of inspiration. Plus the fact that a large number of family members have been posted at key positions in the national and provincial governments in Punjab is also the familiar ‘royal’ style of trusting only the family. Monarchs believe in destroying uprisings. The PML-N royalty dealt with the Model Town case. Suspecting that Qadri’s organisation was getting ready to protest against bad governance, the ‘monarchy’ decided to nip the evil in the bud, but they miscalculated. Even Zardari’s party, which used to be the people’s party or a Bhutto party, had to break its silence. Zardari very aptly said that Nawaz was elected to be a prime minister in a democratic set up and not crowned as a monarch. So far, the PML-N has completely failed to deal with popular dissent democratically. It has frustrated Imran Khan by ignoring the recount of four National Assembly seats as a sample to check if there was rigging and mishandling. It has not taken any real step for electoral reforms. This neglect has confirmed public suspicion that the PML-N has something to hide. If their hands were clean, and they honestly believed in democracy, then they should have set up fully empowered committees to probe and ensure that no rigging takes place in the future. They should have ordered the electronic voting system for the future. None of this was done and so there is suspicion of the PML-N’s involvement in rigging. Their so-called mandate is suspect because they received only 16 percent of the registered electoral vote. They won more seats, thanks to the constituency system. Public dissent and poor government performance strengthened the stand of the PTI and Imran Khan declared a long march to the capital on August 14 to bring ‘freedom’ to the country. Obviously, freedom is meant to start after the removal of the PML-N government. Mr Qadri will soon announce his “march of millions” as the Tehreek-e-Inqilab (Revolutionary Movement). The colossal mishandling of the Model Town affair has hastened the end of this current monarchy. It brings shivers even to recall the brutality shown on June 17, 2014. This was all done under the supervision of the Punjab police. The most obedient servants of the royalty rushed to crush the possible opposition and gave a bloodbath to fellow countrymen. This was followed by a sham investigation and by not letting the aggrieved party even lodge a complaint. The aggrieved have been taking to the streets in search of justice. However, this monarchy cannot last. The day is near for divine justice. People’s rule and true democracy will prevail. The Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Imran’s PTI have similarities in their agenda but PAT’s followers and the masses also see the blood of innocent people on the monarch’s robes. Over 100 families have been shaken because of the monarchs’ bullets, leaving the dead and injured behind. The supporters of Dr Tahirul Qadri showed remarkable discipline last time and not a leaf was shaken; this time it may be different. The spilling of innocent blood has changed the mood. There is a limit to patience and the slightest provocation can turn the crowds out of control in a way that Mr Qadri or Imran Khan may not be able to control. The multitude of people demand the resignation of the PML-N monarchy and an interim set up to ensure justice, make constitutional changes and hold free and fair elections. If resistance is ordered and police force is used, all these ‘king’s men’ will fail to save the monarch and there will be blood on the streets. The writer is the former CEO Pakistan National Council of the Arts; chairman Fruit Processing Industries; chairman UNESCO Theatre Institute Pakistan and COO ICTV, USA. He is the author of Melluhas of the Indus Valley 8000 BC to 500 BC. He can be reached at naeemtahir37@gmail.com