ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:
A Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) spokesperson has claimed that his party and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have agreed to mount a joint political campaign against the government, rallying round a proposed ‘million-man march’ in the capital on August 14.
“We have agreed that we will jointly launch the movement against the government on August 14,” the PAT spokesperson, Umar Ayaz Abbasi, said on Thursday. The two parties will also stage a sit-in at D-Chowk on the same day. A formal announcement will be made within two days by PAT chief Tahirul Qadri, the party’s spokesperson said.
While both parties had earlier announced separate anti-government protests, the proposal to band together was reportedly made by the PTI and later accepted by the PAT. Negotiations for such a united front had been under way for some time, according to Abbasi.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PTI’s vice president, said that though he is unaware of any such development he hardly finds it strange in any way.
Sources said the two parties have agreed on a three-point agenda at the initial stage. Before he leaves Lahore for Islamabad, PTI chief Imran Khan will set a deadline for the federal government by which time it will announce a caretaker government and call a snap poll.
If the government doesn’t bow to these demands, the protesters will continue their sit-in until the prime minister tenders his resignation, sources said.
“The PTI is determined to make some gains from the long march and will not leave Islamabad until this happens,” said PTI senior leader Shafqat Mehmood, who is also a federal lawmaker.
The agenda also includes a ‘ruthless accountability process’ and ‘extensive electoral reform’. PAT PRO Qazi Faiz said the agenda will be finalised as talks between the PTI and PAT continue. However, he said one thing is clear: we will remove the PML-N government, no matter what.
While the agenda was reportedly discussed in private meetings between Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri in Lahore, Faiz said ‘there are some mediators’ who are ‘working hard to bring both parties on the same page’.
Sources said discussion is under way regarding whether Tahirul Qadri or Imran Khan would lead the long march. A third option would see both parties taking out their own marches and converging later at Lahore’s Ravi Bridge.
PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will join the long march from Gujrat while Pakistan Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid will head out from Rawalpindi. PTI workers from K-P plan to meet their party’s march in Rawalpindi.
Strength in numbers
The PTI has also constituted a committee of senior party leaders who will extend an invitation to all political parties to participate in the ‘Azadi March’ on the 14th.
The committee, headed by Shah Mehmood Qureshi, plans to visit the Jamaat-i-Islami leadership on August 4 to invite JI amir Sirajul Haq to join the two parties in their protest. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak is likely to meet with Haq in Islamabad in this regard. “We will go to the leadership of every political party to formally invite them,” said PTI Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry. Committee members include Javed Hashmi, Mian Mehmoodur Rashid and Chaudhry. He said the process of approaching party leaders would be wound up within four or five days.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2014.
COMMENTS (37)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
I AM READY TO BECOME MEMBER OF PAT PARTY I PROUD TO BE DR.TAHIRUL QADRI MY LEADER I AM NOT IMPRESS HIS MEN BUT IMPRESSED ON HIS CHARACTER JUST....NOW READY ALL ARE YOU ... 03053402772 CONTACT ME SOON....
Time for everyone to join forces & remove these families running pakistan only for their own agenda.
@Pakistani Patriot:
As a PMLQ supporter i totally agree with you! knowledge of qadri, charisma of imran khan, development and ground level knowledge and contacts of chaudries and we are a potent force! inshaAllah inqalab!!!!
@LIAQAT ALI:
yeah next elections when noora shareef has sold pakistan ? and how can imran khan compete in next elections when noora league will rig that as well? and if pervez elahi and pmlq is supporting IK i repect them, they have done a lot of develpment in punjab. I would support pervez elahi over shehbaz sharif qaatil el aala anyday.
Nawaz Sharif has not answered Imran Khan answers so he needs to step down .
similarly
Imran Khan has not answered Najam Sethi's,Arslan Iftikhar , ex CJ questions so he too needs to resign.
REVLOLUTION; With assistance from Chaughries of Gujrat, Sheeda talli of Pindi and TUQ of dreams fame? Come on PTI ; you did had the real chance of coming to power in next elections. Wha are you ruining it. Haste will make waste.
To all the PAT, PTI, PMLQ, MQM, APML etc. supporters, this is not the time to think individually. This is the time to put aside party superiority/popularity opinions and just join hands. Rest can be worked out later. The goal is common - to get rid of these PPP/PMLN looters for ever and only a change in the system will bring that about.
@Ranjha: Reading is always beneficial, more so for unschooled minds such as mine, however, post World War 2, there has been a paradigm shift which considers war and all associated with war as an option which comes much later than the last, unless the family name is Bush
@Bilal: "the same people who stood up to MQM in Karachi".....
however since standing up last not a word has been uttered against MQM.....and the Coward has not even had the guts to enter Karachi!
@shumayel: PTI can hold rallies but his workers can't sit in for long period .. It's qadris hard work of 30 years that he has die-hard followers.. And it's Ik who agreed after election that Qadri was right !!
For the people refering to PTI as burger... they forget it is the same people who stood up to MQM in Karachi. Based on that alone, one PTI worker is greater than 1000 PAT, PPP or PMLN worker.
@Aysha M:
War is the ultimate option and every statesman worth his salt needs to embrace it when all else fails. Your simple mind will benefit immensely by reading Ataturk and Mao and Churchill, all great statesmen whose legacies are thriving countries.
Imran is a one in a million person who has come from no politically privileged background and has worked tirelessly for almost two decades to create a political party out of nothing, then win elections (despite massive fraud) to become second largest party in Pakistan, leaving PPP licking its wounds, and has successfully entered the halls of power--he is here to stay so stop kidding yourselves. He gave the ibn-e-dhandli government many opportunities to address his concerns and ran from pillar to post of all "democratic" institutions in cahoots with the mafia, to get justice. The result: zero.
It is now time now to take the kiddie gloves off and go for the jugular....take a step Imran, we are all with you with our struggle, votes and financial contributions to defeat the seven headed monster sucking the life out of the desperate people in our country. God Speed.
@Azmat: - "A lot of water has passed under the bridges since then" .......yes agreed its been many more than 90 days promised....and not much to show - "Situations has changed and so has the demands" .....This is why they say master of U Turns - "and that waht politics is" ....Exactly true they ALL are doing politics - "PTI’s demands for justice have been falling on deaf years" .....i thought CJP had retired so the new CJP is also doing dhandli??? - " It had to be a bang to seek their attention "........Agreed all children bang their foot on floor for attention seeking.......and also cry (u missed this one)
@Malveros:
In Latin, Malvero means Untruth or Lies. Here is the dictionary link:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/malvero
No need to say more.
@Aysha M: Good points. Certain statesmen also stay a thousand miles (or more) away :)
@sofia: A lot of water has passed under the bridges since then. Situations has changed and so has the demands and that waht politics is. The main objective and narrative is still the same. If the govt does not listen to the legitimate demands regarding the rigging, PTI reserves the right to turn on the heat by pressing for more. Govt has been given 14 months but PTI's demands for justice have been falling on deaf years. It had to be a bang to seek their attention which PTI is doing now and rightly so
@LHR: IK a statesman? May be this is how you see it, normally statesmen stop a thousand miles before confrontation, develop consensus and cautiously maneuver towards creating and expanding common ground. Statesmen do not go down warpaths where everybody stands to lose than they can possibly gain
BEFORE coming out for the march on 14 August to make the demand from government to hold new elections ...........would PTI's KPK govt dissolve the assembly or they would do this after IK tables the demand?
@Aysha M: These are 2 statesmen of same stature so it will be a joint speech by Qadri Sahib and Khan Sahib.....may be Khan Sahib can take the galum galoch bit while Qadri sahib can do the threats bit..........thats all what the followers want!
@salman: Yes PMLN knows IK will not use motorway as it was built by PMLN govt (just like metro) so blocking GT Road is the way to stop PTI's access to Islamabad.....Although it is a bit bumby for our Great Leader Khan
I also think Musharraf Sahib, Sheikh Rashid Sahib and Ch Shujaat sahib should join them also.....that will make it the most lethal force in Pakistan. Anyone who doesnt support this lethal force should be expelled from Pakistan because they will be a hurdle in the way of Inqalab
Excellent news Qadri Sahib and Imran Khan Sahib on same platform now ....... They both started their political careers together under Musharraf Sahib's parliament when they only had 1 seat each.....Look at now they have billions of Pakistanies behind them and we are ready to support them in any and every way they want us They just need to order us and we will do whatever they want
Great initiative by 2 greatest leaders of Pakistani history. PTI and PAT should also consider merging the parties PATI (Pakistan Awami Tehrik-e-Insaf) and this will make it a lethal force in Pakistan.
@Malveros: Don't forget the stupid decisions taken in panic by PMLN as well! They are probably thinking hard on how to divert the GT road from Islamabad to Quetta.
PTI supporters are confused as they don't know if PTI has shaken hands with Tahirul Qadri or not? Are they going to Islamabad to overthrow the government or election reforms?
It was Qadri who did a long march last year and asked Ik to join but he didn't, now the situation is same, Ik announced the date without asking Qadri to take the lead. But the nation knows it's Qadri who is struggling for real democracy since a long long time.
Done with MQM if they join
@Ishtiaq: "PAT has the REAL street power, PTI has “burger” youth who cannot stand with IK id difficult situations, where as Qadri’s supporters are very loyal with their leadership and will always follow what Qadri orders them. "
Members of cults follow heir leaders blindly. They are told to jump. They jump.
PML-N needs to go. People are just not aware of the wide ranging corruption they are involved in. In fact, they are worse than PPP. I think it is a wise step on PTI's part to invite and include other parties in this march. PTI is not going into electoral partnership with other parties. One needs to be pragmatic in such circumstances!
@Aysha M: U got that right sis.
Here we go. Keep the nachos and pepsi close. Will be waiting to see the somersaults of IK and the mischief of TUQ.
Alhamdulillah, In sha Allah they will join hands for the betterment of Pakistan.
Didn't Imran Khan say he only wanted electoral reforms and not mid-term polls when all this started? But then again he also referred to Ch. brothers and Sh. Rasheed as crooks. He claims to be a believer in democracy but is working hard to destabilize the system. He wasn't in favour of military intervention but how exactly he expects his demands to be met if pml-n refuses is not clear. He wanted dialogue with militants but put so much pressure on the government that they were forced to give in to the military's demand of an operation. He hated the MQM but didn't bother pressing on the achievable demand of re-polling in karachi by lumping it together with the imagined grievances in Punjab.
Who will get to do the item speech?
The question for PTI to ask here is, is Qadri trying to hijack PTI's initiative here? Afterall, wasnt it imran original plan on 14th aug and whatever qadri wanted to do had nothing to do with 14 aug, then why this? We all know qadri cannot move more than a few thousand of (his own) workers whereas imran can move the masses in general in hundreds of thousands. whatever happened to the one week end to gov? the fact is mr.qadri wants imran to bring the masses and then hijack the movement to install his own idea of revolt on it.
This will be start of end to PTI. I will stop supporting PTI if it join hands with Quadri.
PAT has the REAL street power, PTI has "burger" youth who cannot stand with IK id difficult situations, where as Qadri's supporters are very loyal with their leadership and will always follow what Qadri orders them.