Model Town killings: PTI vigil demands CM’s resignation

Workers hold candle vigil to remember victims, seek Rana Sanaullah’s arrest.

LAHORE:

A large number of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) supporters gathered at the Liberty roundabout on Wednesday to hold a candle vigil for the victims of the June 17 Model Town police action at the Pakistan Awami Tehreek Secretariat. The participants, including women, demanded the resignation of Punjab chief minister.

Speaking on the occasion, PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry said innocent people, including women, were shot in the face by police. “The cries of the daughter of a woman who was shot in the face by police will never be forgiven and forgotten by the people of this country,” he said.

“The Punjab chief minister and Rana Sanaullah do not have a conscience. Otherwise, they would have felt the pain of the victims’ relatives,” he said.

Chaudhry said the PTI would hold protests to ensure that the people responsible for the murders were brought to justice. “The CM and Sanaullah should not only resign, they should also be made to pay for every single bullet that was fired on the protesters,” the PTI leader said.

PTI Punjab General Secretary Dr Yasmin Rashid said the Model Town incident would be remembered as a black day in the country’s history. “Today, another victim of the shooting passed away. He was an innocent Pakistani who became a victim of the Punjab government and police’s terrorism,” she said.

“While we are trying to fight a war on our borders, the Punjab government is creating a war within the province by using the police at its militant wing,” Rashid said.

She said the PTI would keep on demanding the CM’s resignation and Sanaullah’s arrest.

PTI Punjab Information Secretary Andleeb Abbas said the Punjab government was producing terrorists. “It is clear that the Punjab government has trained terrorists like Gullu Butt. They also have links with terrorist organisations all over Punjab,” she said. The PTI Punjab information secretary said the CM should resign because he had admitted that he remained unaware of the Model Town incident for 12 hours. The participants at the candle vigil chanted slogans against the Punjab government and held placards to condemn the Model Town incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2014.