Finally home: Standoff on the runway

Punjab governor defuses five-hour protest aboard plane; Qadri vows to topple govt, and avenge Model Town brutalities.

LAHORE:

After a dramatic homecoming punctuated with hiccups, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri arrived in Pakistan on Monday as the ‘harbinger of a revolution’ — one that ‘will topple the incumbent government’ and rid the country of a myriad of crises.

The Emirates Airline flight EK-612, with 350 passengers on board including Dr Qadri, his aides and media persons, was scheduled to land at Benazir International Airport in Islamabad where a large number of frenzied PAT workers had turned up after defying barricades and roadblocks and after clashing with riot police.



Once the situation started slipping out of its control, the government diverted the flight to Lahore citing security fears. When the flight landed at the Allama Iqbal International Airport, Dr Qadri refused to disembark from the plane. A sizable number of PAT workers had turned up at the airport at short notice to receive their leader.

The Lahore Division commissioner, AIG Police, CCPO and MQM politicians initiated negotiations with Dr Qadri – but in vain. The PAT chief said he would not disembark until the corps commander Lahore or his emissary guaranteed his security because he feared “the Sharifs might have deployed terrorists in police uniform to target me en route to my residence”.



If that is not possible, Dr Qadri said the same flight should be sent back to Islamabad where his supporters had gathered to welcome him. He refused to budge on the two demands.

However, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad saved the situation. He called up Dr Qadri and convinced him to hold talks with Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar. He also informed Dr Qadri that the airline has threatened to lodge a plane hijacking complaint which would tarnish Pakistan’s image internationally.

That is when the PAT chief relented.

The Punjab governor boarded the plane and assured Dr Qadri that all his legitimate demands would be met, if he called off his protest. The five-hour-long standoff ended and Dr Qadri left the plane. He, however, refused to travel in the bullet-proof SUV of the Punjab governor and instead called for PML-Q senior leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to come and accompany him.



Cellular services remained suspended in the city during the entire episode. Even the LCDs installed in the waiting lounge were switched off to avoid updates from reaching the PAT activists gathered there. The routine flight operation wasn’t affected, though. A heavy contingent of police was deployed in and around the airport. The police had established pickets on all roads leading to the airport.

Dr Qadri was driven first to Jinnah Hospital where he enquired after the health of party workers who were injured in the June 17 Model Town tragedy. After spending two hours at the hospital, he left for his residence in Model Town from where he went to the Central Secretariat of Minhajul Quran International to address a news conference.

“The world has seen revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Iran. Now, it will see a revolution in Pakistan,” an emotionally charged Qadri told a news conference at the Central Secretariat of Minhajul Quran International.

Dr Qadri accused the government of ‘hijacking’ his flight. “The government has committed another act of terrorism by hijacking my plane,” he added. “State terrorism cannot stop me, and today I’m in your midst to lead the revolution.”

“The government has perpetrated the worst kind of atrocities against PAT workers – which is unprecedented in the country’s history,” he said. He congratulated his supporters for putting up against state terrorism for 14 hours on June 17. He was referring to the deadly police crackdown on PAT workers at the Minhajul Quran Secretariat which left a dozen protesters dead.

Dr Qadri told his followers that they have set the revolution in motion by sacrificing their lives. “Our revolution is unstoppable now. It will see the end of the present government,” he said, adding that they would avenge all the atrocities committed by the government on the PAT workers.

“O, Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, commit atrocities on my workers that you can bear [after the revolution],” he said. He added that the media would be his right hand in bringing about the revolution.

The PAT chief said the war that he has waged against the ‘corrupt rulers’ was not for his personal gain. “I command respect for my knowledge of the Holy Quran and Hadith. I’ve come back to lead this war for the common man.”

Dr Qadri, who is also a Canadian national, said that he has brought along all that he owned in Canada. “I haven’t even left back a single pair of shoes or socks,” he claimed. He said that he has come back to fight the oppression of the Sharif brothers.

The Chaudhrys of Gujrat, who head their own faction of Pakistan Muslim League, have joined hands with the PAT chief in an anti-government alliance. Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has also lent support to Dr Qadri in his struggle. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan has been noncommittal, though he condemned the June 17 crackdown on PAT workers.

Dr Qadri said he would announce his future plan of action after consulting likeminded political groups. “The rulers will attempt to flee the country – but we’ll not allow them to flee. We’ll recover the looted money and land from them,” he added. “I’ll not hold any political office after the revolution. I’ll lead the revolution and elections will be conducted under my supervision.”

The news conference was held in the courtyard of the Minhajul Quran Secretariat where a large number of his party workers and media persons were present. When the news conference began at 7:30pm, it started raining – but no one budge from his/her place.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2014.