Daily Times

LAHORE: A steering committee, formed after the opposition parties’ all parties conference (APC) on the Model Town incident, is meeting on Monday (today) after the January 7 deadline for Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan to resign ended.

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) had held an APC on the Model Town tragedy on December 30. After developing consensus among all opposition parties, a steering committee was constituted. It gave the deadline of January 7 to the Punjab CM and law minister to resign.

PAT Secretary General Khuram Nawaaz Gandapur confirmed that the meeting of steering committee had been summoned. He confirmed that all committee members would participate in Monday’s meeting. “They will consider all legal and constitutional aspects of holding a protest,” he said.

Gandapur said that the committee would also decide holding protests, or a sit-in, its date, timing and place. “Holding a peaceful protest is our constitutional and legal right. We will consider it in today’s meeting. PAT will endorse any step taken by the committee to get justice in the Model Town case,” he said.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the government was ready to deal with any protests. “We are ready for dealing with any law and order situation. Some parties are doing politics on the issue in coordination with Dr Tahirul Qadri,” he said.

Sources said that the option of a country-wide protest movement, including simultaneous sit-ins in various cities, including Lahore was being considered by the opposition parties.

“The nature of protest movement and its schedule are also likely to be announced after the meeting,” they said.

During the December 30 APC, a resolution was passed stating that the Model Town massacre was the worst example of state terrorism, in which the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership – including deposed premier Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz and Sanaullah – bureaucrats and police officers were involved.

At least 14 people had died and nearly 100 suffered bullet wounds during the police action carried out to remove barriers from a road near the PAT headquarters in Lahore.

Representatives of the Pakistan People’s Party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Awami Muslim League, Pakistan Muslim League, Jamaat-e-Islami, Pak Sarzameen Party, Muslim Conference, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami and others were included in the 18-member steering committee.

Published in Daily Times, January 8^th 2018.