PAT chief asks supporters to write 'go Nawaz go' on currency notes

Qadri alleges that rulers are trying to save their sugar mills by diverting water to villages

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on Sunday launched a movement of its own kind by writing “go Nawaz go” on two currency notes of denomination Rs50 and Rs1000 and urged the masses to follow the suit.

“I ask 180 million people of the country to launch this movement and write go Nawaz go on every single currency note,” Qadri said while addressing the protesters at constitution avenue and vowed to continue the sit-in till the government is ousted.

It is worth mentioning here that defacing a legal tender is a criminal offence.

The PAT chief launched the movement after hitting hard at both government and opposition for joining hands. Qadri said, “The opposition was supposed to hold the government accountable but instead they have joined hands to save the democracy.”

Following Qadri’s announcement, State Bank of Pakistan announced in a statement that any note that bears written, stamped, embossed or inscribed slogan, statement or message of political, religious or commercial nature ceases to be legal tender and loses its exchange value.

Any such act will result into the financial loss to the holder of such notes, an SBP statement said on Sunday. It reminded the general public that banknotes are critical for the sovereignty of the country and should be used with due care.

Qadri claimed that the entire system, the assemblies and the Parliament were unconstitutional as they were setup in violation of the constitution. Referring to Article 51 (5) of the constitution, the PAT chief said elections were held despite not having fresh census. He further quoted Article 140 and said local government elections were not held in last nine years.

“We reject this fake democracy and fake parliament. The rulers should be tied under Article 6 (high treason) for violation of the constitution,” he added.

“Where is the parliament and where is the constitution?” Qadri questioned.

Earlier, he said that there was no democracy particularly due to the conditions in which a vast majority of people were living as there were no resources of medical treatment, law did not exist, legal, social and economic protection not available to them. “This is the agenda of revolution of the ‘Inqlab’ march; this is why we are here,” he said.

Qadri clarified that the basic purpose of PAT’s ongoing protest was not Model Town incident only as the entire country have been facing the same fate while rulers were minting money.

Talking about the recent floods in the country, Qadri said that the rulers are trying to save their sugar mills by diverting water to villages where poor people are left helpless.

He further said that the people of Pakistan would not get justice from the courts until political system of the country is rectified. “The courts have no powers to deliver justice at the doorsteps of the people as such decisions are to be taken by the rulers,” he added.

“A mafia of criminals is everywhere from top to bottom,” he said.

Commenting on the attack on Parliament House, PAT chief said that “people opened the door of the parliament house in order to take shelter as there was heavy shelling from all sides but they have been branded as terrorists. If saving life has become a crime, then shoot these people.”

Qadri alleged that the government has issued Intelligence Bureau (IB) Rs 2.75 billion merely to stop the PAT’s Inqlab march. “The IB had already received its budget of Rs 20 billion and consumed the entire budget in mere 42 days,” he added.