Army not behind Azadi & Revolution Marches: Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri

PAT leader Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has said that there is no reality in allegations of army backing Azadi and revolution marches. He said that it was for the first time that he held meetings with the Chief of Army Staff and DG ISI and that too after the government requested the army to play its role in the political crisis. He said that propaganda to involve army in politics was meant to sabotage his political struggle for change in the system.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri expressed these views while addressing the participants of revolution and Azadi marches from the container of PTI after PTI Chairman Imran Khan invited him over. He said that joint session of Parliament was held today that came into being as a result of rigged elections presided over by unconstitutionally composed Election Commission. He said that the establishment of present National Assembly was the result of duress, and rigging and violation of Constitution and all democratic norms. He asked those who stood with fake democracy to clarify whether they considered PAT and PTI as enemies of democracy. He said that leaderships and workers of both parties had stood up for establishment of real democracy and restoration of the Constitution in the country.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said that the Constitution which was being talked about so passionately in the Parliament was practically suspended. He said that one portion of the Constitution guaranteed provision of basic necessities and fundamental rights to the masses and also gave them right to hold their elected representatives accountable. He said that it had been 41 years since the Constitution was promulgated and despite the fact that the status quo political parties alternated each other in power, the people had remained deprived of their rights. He said that the part of the Constitution which talked of provision of rights to the masses had been kept suspended for all intents and purposes. He said that the present rulers used the Constitution as an instrument to expand their businesses and strengthen their grip on levers of power. He demanded that the rulers should be tried for treason due to this willful suspension of these pro-people Articles of the Constitution.

Dr Qadri said that the ruling elite were ‘concerned’ about protection of democracy in which about 100 people were shot at by state agency, 14 of them died and the heirs of victims were not even given a right to get their FIR registered. He said that whole of Punjab province was turned into a jail by placement of containers, adding that no such democracy existed in any part of the world. He said that the Election Commission came into being as a result of politics of ‘deal-making’ and consequently it helped the status quo parties rig elections in their favour. He said that democracy was another name of trust worthiness, honesty, transparency and accountability. He said that our Prime Minister told a blatant lie in the National Assembly and hence he did not have any right to continue in his office. He said that Judicial Commission established by the government of Punjab held Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif responsible for the killings in Model Town but he was adamant not to step down from his position. He asked as to why Nawaz Sharif did not find any ‘Sharif’ (noble) person from his party who could be elevated to position of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister to pave the way for fair investigation into rigging charges and Model Town tragedy in a transparent manner. He said that democracy invoked by the rulers was in fact dynastic form of the government in which people were no more than loyal subjects.

Condemning attack on the PTV Centre the other day, Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri made it clear that those who perpetrated this attack did not belong to either PAT or PTI. He said that it was possible that Gullu Butts of the ruling party might be involved in this attack. He said that he even did not know as to which side PTV building was located. He said that if some of our workers allegedly injured police men with ‘Kulhari’, he was all for establishment of a neutral committee that should investigate the matter thoroughly and come up with its findings. He rubbished all allegations of terrorism and added that the government was itself protector and sponsor of terrorists.

PAT leader said that the Sharif brothers talked of dragging ex-President Asif Zardari on roads and that violent talk was digested, for it was all ‘democratic’ but added as to why struggle of the disempowered and downtrodden sections of society was not being digested simply because they belonged to less unfortunate statra of society. He asked as to where people should go except come on roads if they had been denied their rights for many decades. He said that those who talked of sit-ins consisting of merely few thousand people should come and see for themselves that people were there in their hundreds of thousands despite torture, captivity, baton-charging and even firing. He said that it was due to pressure of the protesters that the Prime Minister condescended to come to Parliament, otherwise he was obsessed with his foreign junkets at public expense.

He said that the ruling elite considered loot and plunder as democracy and were least bothered about plight of the poor. He said that all status quo parties had ganged up to protect their share of perks and privileges in the name of democracy. He said that Imran Khan and he had joined each other’s hands to break the hands of corrupt mafia and for restoration of rights to the people.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said that those who gave examples of the protest demonstrations in the US should tell whether the people were killed there with abandon and if some killing took place there, was FIR not registered straight away. He said that election process was highly credible there as rigging and other fraudulent activities were unheard of. He congratulated the marchers on registration of correct FIR on Model Town tragedy and said that it was possible as a result of sacrifices, steadfastness and commitment of workers. He said that the Prime Minister and Chief Minister were among the 21 accused.