Breathing fire: People will foil Qadri’s march: Mashhood

Says PAT and PTI destabilising Pakistan at the behest of foreign forces.

LAHORE:

Law Minister Rana Mashhood on Sunday said that the people of Pakistan would foil Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri’s march.

He was speaking during a press conference organised in Lahore.

Mashhood said that the government would not allow anyone to take the law in their hands.

The minister said Qadri’s call for a revolution was aimed at spreading anarchy in the Punjab and destabilising Pakistan.

He said action would be taken against Qadri in accordance with law. Mashhood said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz workers had been perturbed over the deteriorating situation in the province and had wanted to organise several public gatherings in a show of support for the government.

The minister said that Qadri and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan were collaborating with foreign forces to destabilise Pakistan.

Mashhood said Qadri had been trying to provoke people. He said action would be taken against him.

The minister said that Khan and Qadri were planning marches while the country was at a critical juncture. He said this had exposed their complicity in anti-state activities.

Mashhood asked the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf whether it would support a man who was inciting violence or support the government. He said the government would establish the writ of the state throughout the country.

Mashhood said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s long march was destined to fail as responsible sections of society saw it as an attempt to destabilise Pakistan.

He said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s long march would lack popular support. The minister said the government had arrested several PAT leaders and seized illegal weapons from them.

He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz led government would thwart Tahirul Qadri’s attempts at spreading anarchy in the country.

Earlier, Mashhood had said on Sunday that the public had given a mandate to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the general elections.

He was speaking at a rally organised as part of Independence Day celebrations in Gulshan-i-Ravi. Mashhood said Pakistan was progressing under PML-N government.

The minister said the thousands of people who had flocked to the rally were proof of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif’s popularity.

He said they had sent a reminder to those conspiring against Pakistan with their presence.

Mashhood said Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan was leading workers to Islamabad by deception.

He said if Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahirul Qadri could try to change the system with 20,000 supporters and Imran Khan had the audacity to demand mid-term elections with 50,000 supporters then the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz could easily stop Imran Khan in his tracks with hundreds of thousands of people.

Minister Rana Mashhood said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz workers could cordon off Zaman Park.

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