The Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) gave the government a 48-hour ultimatum to meet its demands, saying that otherwise the peaceful sit-in would enter ‘the final phase of revolution’ and there would be a ‘graveyard of martyrs’ where the Parliament House stands.
“I give a 48-hour ultimatum to the government to meet my demands and step down,” said PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri as he brandished a kaffan (shroud) that he reportedly purchased for himself. “Today, I am going to give you the good news that your peaceful sit-in will enter the final phase and transform into an Inqilab (revolution),” Qadri told the crowd.
“I have purchased a shroud for myself and am ready to embrace martyrdom,” said Qadri in a sombre tone, with tears in his eyes. The display of the shroud charged the crowd and participants of the sit-in cried out that they too were ready to sacrifice their lives at their leader’s call.
The PAT gave the government its first deadline to step down on the twelfth day of the sit-in. A day later, it entered into talks with the government. However, after a televised interview of former additional secretary of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Afzal Khan regarding alleged rigging in the 2013 elections, Qadri announced the ‘final round’ of the sit-in.
“It would be better for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and federal ministers to dissolve the assemblies and leave the corridors of power before the expiry of the deadline as they do not have a moral justification to stay in power now,” Qadri said after the interview was aired. “We will fight till the last minute and from now onwards two things might happen: either this kaffan will be for me or for this system,” he said.
PAT’s first demand is the dissolution of assemblies and includes the registration of an FIR in the clash in Lahore’s Model Town on June 17 wherein 14 PAT workers were killed, and the publication of the reports of the Joint Investigation Team and judicial commission on the incident.
“The rulers thought that the protesters will leave after some time,” Qadri said. “But if I am sitting here, then how can any of these marchers leave?”
Qadri said the participants of the march were representative of 180 million people, just as those “sitting in the Parliament House claim to be representatives of their constituencies”.
Referring to Afzal Khan’s allegation that 90 per cent of the polls were rigged, he said, “The assemblies are unconstitutional and undemocratic because they came to being under the supervision of a commission (ECP) which itself was unconstitutional. The ECP was constituted in violation of Article 213 of the Constitution.”
Though Qadri did not pinpoint former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, he claimed a “representative of politicians took directions from Raiwind” and did not carry out justice.
He referred to negotiations with the previous government after which he ended his long march in 2013, saying, “All had accepted the fact that they have committed a mistake in the formation of the ECP. They asked me to take the matter to the Supreme Court and promised, under oath, to give their statements. But they perhaps knew that no one would ask them to appear for a statement.”
Addressing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, Qadri said there is now “no need for investigations into the rigging of the 2013 general elections”.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 26th, 2014.
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