Nov 2 sit-in: Qadri decides against joining dharna

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri will not join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s sit-in scheduled for November 2 (tomorrow) in Islamabad.

According to PAT leaders, there was a possibility that Qadri could show up at the sit-in at the eleventh hour but now PAT Secretary General Khurrum Nawaz Gandapur has been asked to lead party workers’ delegation. “We have asked our party organisations from Jhelum to Rawalpindi to attend the sit-in while people from far-flung areas have not been invited as we do not have accommodation facilities for them,” PAT Information Secretary Noorullah Siddiqi said.



Speaking at a meeting of PAT Executive Council on Monday, Gandapur confirmed that he would lead his party activists at the dharna.

Last month, Qadri claimed he will monitor PTI’s ‘lockdown’ plan of Islamabad from Canada. PAT officials told The Express Tribune that Qadri has asked his party members to adopt a neutral stance and refrain from making statements that either support or confront PTI. PAT Information Secretary Noorullah Siddiqi said, “we support PTI’s demand for an enquiry into corruption. However, we [do not support the party’s plan to] shut down Islamabad.” He added that they will observe the situation.



Meanwhile, PAT leader Basharat Jaspal told The Express Tribune that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government has incurred a debt of $73 billion and has adversely impacted the country’s economy and agricultural sector.  Jaspal said, “we believe money that is misappropriated and [retained] through offshore companies should be brought back.” The PAT leader said his party disagreed with the strategy adopted by the PTI for accountability.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st , 2016.