Nation must rise against dishonest rulers, Qadri tells PAT-led sit-in

PAT chief says he doesn't want any unconstitutional move but wants justice for the martyrs of Model Town

Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Chief Dr Tahirul Qadri said on Wednesday that he doesn't intend to break the law or take an unconstitutional step, but rather seeks justice for the martyrs of the Model Town tragedy.

The PAT and other opposition parties are staging a show of power against the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), particularly demanding that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Law Minister Rana Sanaullah resign over their alleged role in the 2014 killings of Qadri's political workers.

At least 14 PAT workers were killed in June 2014 in police action against encroachments outside the Minhajul Quran headquarters.

"We have gathered here to save the country from the inhuman rulers," Qadri told supporters at the Model Town rally in Lahore. "I have come here to awaken the nation against the suppression of human rights and loot and plunder of national wealth," he added.

The PAT chief went on to liken deposed premier Nawaz Sharif with Sheikh Mujib, who is seen as the main culprit behind the separation of East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. "The country is under threat from the Sheikh Mujib of this era."

The ruler have violated and transgressed the Constitution, he added. Qadri, however, added that PAT didn't support any unconstitutional step and only wanted to expose the tyranny of the rulers.

"We vow to provide peace to the people and not snatch it from them, he remarked.

Meanwhile, deposed premier Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz took to Twitter to comment on the "empty chairs in the rally".

یہ خالی کرسیاں نہیں، عوام کی طرف سےسازشوں اور سازشیوں کو واضح اور دو ٹوک جواب ھے ! pic.twitter.com/NKa9ELGy8R

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) January 17, 2018

Earlier today, the Lahore High Court granted permission to the opposition parties to hold the anti-government power show till midnight over the Model Town carnage on Lahore’s Mall Road.

The court also directed Lahore police to provide security to the sit-in, but stated that the provincial government can take action if the sit-in were to become violent.