Overseas trip: Qadri heads to America for fund-raising

Rejects claims that his party has cut a deal with the government

LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri announced on Monday that he would soon be flying to the United States, Canada and Britain in an effort to raise funds for his party.

While briefing the media, Qadri said that he was leaving the country on an Emirates Airlines flight at 3.30am early Tuesday morning. “I will gather funds for PAT over there,” he said.

Qadri added that since there were reports of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif leaving for London, he had changed his schedule.

“I will not land in London because of Shahbaz Sharif,” he said. “Most of my time will be spent in the US.”

Ruling out any deal with the government,  Dr Qadri said, “I will offer Rs 50 million to anybody who presents a copy of a document signed by me or any PAT leader as part of an understanding or agreement with the government.

Giving details of his itinerary, the PAT chief said he would arrive in Canada on November 13, where he would stay for three days.

He said PAT had entered the political arena to play the role of a real opposition, adding that a schedule of protests and sit-ins had already been announced.

“Reshuffling in the federal cabinet is a result of our struggle of over 70 days in Islamabad,” he claimed.

The PAT chief censured the government, claiming that the UK was a “real democracy” as it did not subject the protesters of ‘Kashmir Million March’ in London to police brutality or blockades.

“My first public engagement in Pakistan will now be on November 23,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2014.