Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri said on Sunday that if the government adopted ‘the way of torture’ on his arrival, there will be a ‘revolution’ the same day.
Before travelling to Dubai from London’s Heathrow Airport, the party leader said his arrival does not pose a danger to democracy in Pakistan as he wished to come to Lahore peacefully. “I do not know why the government is frightened of me,” he said.
Dr Qadri said the government should act responsibly and maintain peace in the country. He said the Punjab government is ‘inviting its death’ by reportedly ‘torturing’ PAT activists.
He appealed to the armed forces to play their role to stop the government from adopting a ‘policy of aggression’. The government cannot stop the Pakistan Awami Tehreek from its mission to bring change in Pakistan through revolution, he said.
Qadri said he would stage protests outside PM House in Islamabad and will hold the prime minister responsible if any of his workers are killed during protests. He added that peaceful workers were being arrested and tortured under an ‘undemocratic’ PML-N government. “If I am killed upon my arrival, my workers should remain calm,” he added.
As Rawalpindi prepares for Qadri’s arrival, Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been imposed in the city and public gatherings have been banned until 12pm on June 24. Pillion riding has also been banned in the city.
The PAT chief left for Dubai at 6pm (PST) and will arrive at Benazir International Airport on Monday morning.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2014.
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
"Urging his supporters to have patience, he said that he will announce when the revolution will take place." So Qadri can even fix the timing of a revolution. Now, it becomes obvious that he is paving the way for a coup and this cannot be without some backing and nexus. But a coup is not a revolution. See Crane Brinton, Anatomy of Revolution.
I hope so day a good ledar will rise up one day and stand for the poor people of Nigeria