Daily Times

LAHORE: Dr Tahirul Qadri is one of the most renowned and famous Islamic scholars in the world and wherever he travels, the host country provides him with foolproof security, said Pakistan Awami Tehreek Secretary General Khurram Nawaz Gandapur while reacting to a defamation campaign against the PAT chairman on Monday.

He accused the federal government of masterminding this dirty campaign, saying that such cheap tactics were being used only to damage the reputation of Dr Tahirul Qadri, which was unethical.

Gandapur said that Qadri was known for his bold, strong and firm stance on the elimination of terrorism and extremism from the world, and especially Pakistan. He said Qadri has never protested the lower level of security but has always thanked the host nations for the facilities provided to him. Gandapur said that the recent campaign against Dr Tahirul Qadri was run on the orders of the federal government, adding that if Nawaz Sharif and Pervaiz Rashid had any moral or political courage, then they should get these shameful articles published with their own by-lines so that PAT could give them a befitting reply.

He said that in 2010, Dr Tahirul Qadri gave the world a comprehensive anti-terrorism agenda to wipe out extremism and terrorism from the face of the earth. He said in the same context, Qadri visited India when Congress Party was in power. “An armed group attacked the car of Dr Qadri and thereafter the Indian government raised the level of security and gave him foolproof and Z+ security,” he recalled.

He said the PAT leader visited eight states in India and wherever he went, he was accorded top security and finest hospitality.

Meanwhile, a PAT spokesman said that the government knows that it cannot escape from the killings in Model Town and that was why it started a smear campaign against the PAT leader.

The spokesman said everybody knows the mindset of rulers, who were behind this shameful campaign. He said the revelations made by the PAT chairman have shaken the very foundations of the ruling party, adding that the rulers know that they would have to pay Qasas for the blood they have shed in the Model Town tragedy.