FAISALABAD: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri has asked people to give him ‘support, [currency] notes and votes’ so that he could “change their destiny and bring a revolution of prosperity at their doorstep”.
“Neither I have money and nor my associates are billionaires, looters or plunderers. I need your support with all resources for bringing a genuine revolution and a qualitative change in the lives of the oppressed,” he said, addressing a mammoth rally in the historical Dhobi Ghaat ground Sunday night.
“I’m in Faisalabad for two days to enroll you as a member of the PAT. I will open a bank account, stuff it with your money according to your capacity,” he said. Qadri, who took a break from PAT’s dharna in Islamabad after 60 days and travelled to Faisalabad, claimed that a revolution had come and now people were ready to snatch power from the rulers if they refused to accept their verdict. “If Nawaz Sharif and his associates do not allow the genuine representatives of people to rule the country on the basis of equality, fair-play, social justice and rule of law, then revolutionaries will sweep away his government,” he warned.
The PAT chief said he was living a comfortable life in Canada, but had decided to return to Pakistan and bear these hardships as he could not bear the suffering of the nation. “People are committing suicides, lawlessness and corruption are rampant, and everyone is suffering. Such sorry state of affairs forced me to come to Pakistan to steer the country out of crises,” he said.
Criticising the government, Qadri said the country was mired in heavy foreign loans and the resources were being spent for payment of their interest – a situation in which no resources were left for ordinary citizens. “Additionally, the rulers have also borrowed trillions of rupees from local banks and are paying heavy interest on such loans. These rulers cannot pull the national economy out of such morass.”
The PAT chief claimed that if he was voted to power, he would raise billions of rupees through overseas Pakistanis to pay off the loans and to make Pakistan a loan-free state.
The present system is based on cruelty, injustice, he said, adding that only with the power of the vote he could overcome the menaces of poverty, lawlessness, terrorism, sectarianism and religious intolerance.
The PAT chief said he had ‘committed a crime’ by raising his voice for the poor and the downtrodden. “My 10-point agenda is my heinous crime and the supporters of the status quo have united against me,” he said. “Fake democracy is not acceptable”.
Qadri said that the huge turnout at the rally was a no-confidence motion against the government. “Pakistani people have rejected politics of corruption and the monarchy of Nawaz Sharif. They cannot stay in power by hoodwinking the masses on the basis of their fake mandate,” he added.
Qadri said he was committed to ending the system of injustice in Pakistan and no one could stop him. “The revolution march has entered the decisive phase and my struggle to change the system is now heading towards victory,” he claimed. He also announced that after coming to powers, he would create new provinces for resolving people’s problems at their doorsteps.
Other leaders of the allied parties, including Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen and Sunni Ittehad Council, also spoke at the gathering.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2014.
COMMENTS (8)
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@Rafaqat: Mate, its voluntary. No one is asking you to donate. Theres thousands of Pakistani's who want to help Pakistan prosper.
He'll not be forcing over seas Pakistanis to pay. Only those who wish to see Pakistan prosper will pay, so don't worry any of you selfish lot who have an issue with his statement. Secondly everything he says is valid but majority of Pakistanis are so mentally enslaved that they cannot begin to see beyond looters, murderers such as the Sharifs and Zardaris. The logic behind people making donations to his party means that they will have ownership of his party and how its run. In the west this is normal. People make personal donations, nothing wrong with it.
He comes across as genuine in his desire to help Pakistan come out of its corruption-ridden status quo. We Pakistanis need to give the 'others' a chance. Why do we feel we are doomed to be forever be ruled by PPP and PMLN.
So finally the main motive emerges, that is to stock up the money from his foolish followers and runaway never come back.
If with such turn-outs in PAT and PTI rallies one think its business-as-usual - he does only make a dire mistake - the threat is looming big and it would be good for SQPs (Status-Quo-Parties) to opt for voluntary resignation before the To-Be JIT's report on electoral corruption.
Agreed to that, Already the remittances from overseas are supporting the budget inflow. It's better to start collecting taxes from people who don't want to pay & then make it a revolutionary state.
Well at least he's honest about his intention to suck money out of the people's pockets.
LOL @ qadri
If Qadri is thinking that overseas Pakistanis are there to hand over their hard earned money just like that, he needs to get real. He won't be getting a single penny from me. Perhaps some one needs to tell him that Pakistanis need to start paying taxes.