Daily Times

Demanding justice for the martyrs of the Model Town incident, chief of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Dr Tahirul Qadri raised a slogan of “Blood for blood,” stressing his party would not accept anything less than qisas (retribution). Elaborating his statement, Dr Qadri added that his party demands blood for blood, life for life and head for head. He was addressing his followers through a video link in around 80 cities across Pakistan. He threatened to revenge the martyrs within a week, but said that they did not want to disrupt the peace of the country. Furthermore, he added that any wrong move on the part of his party could give an excuse to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government to take law in its hand. He also warned of the presence of terrorist nurseries in the province of Punjab, and requested the army chief to conduct an operation in the province as well.

Dr Qadri also visited Pakistan a few months ago, and addressed in a similar way while also requesting Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif to provide justice to the Model Town victims. This time again he reiterated that they were not allowed to file the first information report of the Model Town incident, nor were they given an impartial joint investigation team (JIT) to probe the incident.

While the inaction on the part of the government to not provide the victims of the incident justice is condemnable, the absence of the PAT chief from Pakistan for almost two years has not strengthened his case a bit. The government should have been more active in pursuing the alleged perpetrators of the incident, and delay in governmental action only harmed its stance on the issue. Furthermore, the JIT established for the investigation was also marred by allegations of prejudice.

It has been more than two years since the Model Town incident. The delay in the investigations and the absence of Dr Qadri from Pakistan has rather dampened his demands on the issue. As a non-resident Pakistani, making an appearance in Pakistan once in a couple of years in his avatar as the ‘messiah’ of people is a tad ludicrous, and of negligible political value. The inconsistent presence in Pakistan of Dr Qadri is a manifestation of his shadowy political agenda, which reeks of, at the most, of opportunism. The timing of his proclamations at the time when the PML-N faces attacks of opposition in the context of the Panama Papers revelations is a reiteration of his penchant for joining the political cacophony when it is at its loudest, and crudest.

Ultimately, it is the families of the victims of the Model Town incident who are affected from the stalemate between the government and PAT. Government inaction as well as patchy response from the PAT chief following the incident has made the issue fade away from the mainstream. Both the sides would have to cede some ground to reach an agreement to establish an investigation team. Justice should be provided to those who lost their loved ones. Provocative speeches, time after time, will not work, not will any street agitation.

A horrific crime was committed in Model Town, and that is simply how it should be considered in the legal framework of Pakistan. The deaths of 14 people in a shootout with the Punjab police is a criminal matter, and that is how it must be investigated and dispensed justice to. And Dr Qadri would be wise to remember that real life in not a summer blockbuster where the hero announces vengeance against the bad guys, demanding blood for blood. Justice in civilised societies is done in courts, and that is where the victims of the Model Town tragedy must get justice too. Not in rallies.*