Show of strength: Parties converge at rally to express solidarity with Qadri

KARACHI:

Numaish Chowrangi and the routes leading to it were blocked on Sunday due to the demonstration attended by activists of several political parties to express solidarity with Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.

The sit-in was organised by the Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) who were joined by several other parties aligned with the PAT. They included the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) and Awami Muslim League (AML).

A large contingent of law enforcers was deployed in the vicinity to avoid any untoward incident. All the main thoroughfares leading to the Numaish Chowrangi were blocked and vehicles were diverted to alternative routes.

PAT observed Youm-e-Shuhada on Sunday at the Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran secretariat in Model Town, Lahore, while Dr Tahirul Qadri had also asked his party activists to launch protests from their respective locations on Saturday.

Quran Khawani for the victims of Model Town tragedy and Pakistan army soldiers who were martyred during operation Zarb-e-Azb in Waziristan was also held at the Numaish Chowrangi.

A large number of people attended the programme which started at around 5pm and later turned into a sit-in that continued till late Sunday night.

After the Quran Khawani, Allama Baqar Zaidi of the MWM, Tariq Mehboob of the SIC, Naeem Adil Shaikh of the PML-Q, Mumtaz Siyal of the PAT and Mehfooz Yar Khan of the AML also addressed the participants. The leaders of MWM and its allied parties also demanded restoration of their offices in Punjab and the immediate release of their arrested workers."

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th,2014.