Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Wednesday pledged to take the ruling Sharif family to task over the 2014 Model Town tragedy in which a number of innocent people, including women, lost their lives and dozens of others were injured.

“Murderers of Model Town victims have lost their position in the government after Panamagate case verdict but the time is not far when they will lose even their life for murdering the innocent people of Model Town,” Qadri told families of the victims of Model Town tragedy at a sit-in at The Mall. “The struggle is not over yet. We will continue on this path until justice is served,” he said as he assured the participants of the sit-in that he will not rest until the culprits of the incident are taken to task.

Qadri said that ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif had already been declared ‘dishonest’ by the Supreme Court in Panama Papers case while Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was directly involved in Model Town killings according to the investigations carried out by Justice Baqir Ali Najfi.

He said that Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif could not buy the blood of the martyrs of Model Town. “We are protesting not against the courts but state terrorism and murderers who are responsible for killings of innocent people,” he said, and urged the chief justice of the Lahore High Court to make public the Justice Najfi Commission report.

Targeting Nawaz Sharif’s for his new narrative, Qadri said, “You tell people today that you have taken the responsibility of preserving the sanctity of the vote… I ask you who trampled over the sanctity of vote [in the first place]?”

“Had you been a truly democratic politician who respected the masses’ vote, you would have come out on GT Road during ‘90s. Instead, you connived in ousting Benazir Bhutto from office and became prime minister yourself.”

Leveling allegations against the former prime minister, Qadri said, “You introduced dirty politics… you started culture of buying lawmakers with sacks of money.”

“Shehbaz Sharif says ashrafiya have looted this country. Do you know what ashrafiya means? It is the plural of sharif in Arabic… so you are right, the ashrafiya have indeed robbed this nation,” Qadri said, taking a dig at the Sharif family.

Qadri announced to hold more protest sit-ins till receiving justice in different cities, especially Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan after Eidul Azha.

Leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Awami Muslim League (AML) also joined the sit-in on special invitation by PAT chief to show solidarity with the families of the victims of the Model Town tragedy.

Published in Daily Times, August 17^th 2017.