Tahirul Qadri invites all parties to join his January ‘peaceful’ protest

Qadri assures the protest will be peaceful and not in violation with the Constitution.


Ema Anis December 27, 2012
Qadri assures the protest will be peaceful and not in violation with the Constitution. PHOTO: NNI/ FILE

LAHORE: Allama Tahirul Qadri, head of Minhajul Qur’an International (MQI), invited all religious and political parties of the country on Thursday to join his  protest, planned to be held on January 14, 2013, in Islamabad.

Holding a press conference along with Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) deputy convener Farooq Sattar, Qadri said that all those parties striving for reforming the electoral system and are fighting for people and democracy should join the protest.

“January 10 is the deadline, and January 14 is the day when our people’s parliament will announce a decision. We will resolve to provide rights to the people and to restore the real democracy,” Qadri said.

He assured that the protest will be peaceful and not in violation with the Constitution. “There will be no rioting. The protest will be peaceful. This is our political and constitutional right. Democracy allows peaceful protests.”

Qadri added, “We just need implementation and the execution of the Constitution, and we need the restoration of true and real democracy. We need the rights of our people back. We need to eradicate corruption and every kind of political exploitation from the electoral system.”

COMMENTS (29)

ProlificRealist | 11 years ago | Reply

He's never been absent from Pakistan, he never came to Pakistan for 3 years, previous to that he would always come and do lectures etc. For the 3 years he didn't come, he communicated to millions of pakistanis from video conferencing, doing speeeches etc.

As Dr Qadri said many times, he is not interested in politics, he is interested in the, promotion of rights and intrinsic value of human life which has been degraded and killed by the current corrupt system.

He never ever supported Musharraf, ever, please do not make lies up. The rigged polls were against him, yet, he still won seats, that's when Dr Qadri first experienced first hand the corruption of the system which is why he left in the end in 2004.

Please again do not make up lies about constitution of pakistan, if you read them, even if they were witten by whoever, you would see the ones that Dr Qadri wants implementing are those that say "right to have food, clean water, shelter, electricity, gas, job opportunities, security, safety, no corrupt leaders, no corruption in the system". I don't think anyone opposes that, unless they are for the corrupt system and like seeing 180 million people suffer and die.

Having the army and judiciary involved is the case everywhere across the work from US to Australia. Without the consultation of the army and judiciary decisions aren't made, he only wants the consultation to happen. It's not like there isn't any consultation going on, it's just official now. Which shows to the world, look, as a country everyone, and every institution is united for the betterment of pakistan.

Mazher | 11 years ago | Reply

When a long absent religious cleric with political ambitions suddenly re-emerges from the woodwork, one is within one’s rights to ask what has prompted this rebirth. Dr Qadri’s track record is hardly inspiring. His political party, the Pakistan Awami Tehreek failed to make any dent in the 1997 elections despite an alliance with the then Benazir-led PPP. In 1999, he openly supported Musharraf’s coup, garnering a parliamentary seat in the rigged elections of 2002 into the bargain, which raises questions about his current posturing vis-à-vis opposing military takeovers and dictatorship. Many of the Articles of the constitution he wants implemented before any elections are a legacy of the Ziaul Haq dictatorship, which the post-2008 elections parliament has been unable to do away with despite the 18th Amendment. The interim setup Dr Qadri wants to oversee the elections should either be composed of, or at least have representation from the judiciary and army. Now if that is not opening the door to an extra-constitutional intervention/setup, it would be difficult to imagine anything more obvious.

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