Political deadlock: Azadi March has failed, says Mashhood

Mashhood says Gujranwala incident was tragic and urged the PTI leaders to avoid inappropriate language

LAHORE:

Law Minister Rana Mashhood said on Friday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had been disappointed at the failure of the Azadi March.

He said the Gujranwala incident was tragic and urged the PTI leaders to avoid inappropriate language. The minister said PTI activists had pelted stones at the office of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and had provoked its workers.  Mashhood said the Azadi March lacked popular support. He said the government had allowed the PTI to march to Islamabad despite a Lahore High Court ruling that the demands were unconstitutional. He said the PTI was spoiling for a confrontation with the government after the failure of the march. Mashhood said PAT chief Tahirul Qadri was lying about the Model Town violence. He said Qadri was seeking political mileage from dead bodies. He said the government had allowed PAT to undertake the march after it had assured them that the march would be peaceful.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th,2014.