Sartaj Aziz’s statement an effort to thwart Operation Zarb-e-Azab: Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri

PAT leader Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has said that the government has a nexus with the terrorists, which is evident from the statement of Prime Minister’s advisor on national security and foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, which, he said, can rightly be termed as a stab in the back of the armed forces that are busy wiping out terrorists in tribal areas of the country. He said that Aziz’s statement manifests a clear support of the terrorists.

Talking to media in Lahore, Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said that the one-man Judicial Tribunal, established by the government, clearly held the government of Punjab responsible for the Model Town tragedy but the government got a stay order to keep the report under wraps and avoid its publication. He said that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which was constituted to probe Model Town incident, is nothing short of a murder of justice, oppression and betrayal of martyrs’ families. He said that we will not become part of any JIT till resignation of the Punjab Chief Minister. Terming the report to be issued by JIT as ‘Patyala House’ report, he said that merely a formality remains in the form of signatures on it. He said that police officer who has been summoned from Quetta for the purpose will be given promotion after some time. He demanded that the notification of the present JIT should be cancelled and new bipartisan JIT should be set up on the basis of points that were agreed to between PAT and the government during negotiation process.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said that on the one hand, lofty claims are made regarding establishment of law and order in the country, while the situation on the other hand is that a few days ago, Engineer Miraj Umrani, the brother of PAT President Balochistan, was murdered along with his wife and children, adding that the provincial authorities have not done anything to date for the affected family. He said that killing people into permanent silence is the standard operating procedure of PML-N. He said that the way no one is ready to take any action against those responsible for Model Town incident in Punjab, likewise the similar situation exists in Balochistan. He said that the only way to save the state of Pakistan in such condition is that the killers, their patrons, and protectors are thrown out of power. He said that these people are killers of democracy, justice, law and the Constitution, adding that they aren’t even capable of protecting the interests of Pakistan at the international level.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said that the Chief of the Army Staff stated during his visit to the US that the armed forces will flush out and eliminate terrorists of all hues and colours, whereas on other hand, Advisor on national security and foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz has the gall to say that the government cannot take action against terrorists that do not threaten Pakistan, something which can clearly be taken to mean a collusion between the government and terrorists. He said that categorization of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ terrorists exists in the government’s policy and Sartaj Aziz has extended an open support to those he presumes to be ‘good’ terrorists. He said that it is yet another effort to thwart Operation Zarb-e-Azab. He said that the government has stabbed Pakistan armed forces in the back at a time when the Army Chief is in the US on an official tour holding dialogue with the US military leadership about elimination of terrorism.

The PAT leader said that the dance of death continues in Thar in Sindh and Thal in Punjab, provinces where governments that came into being as a result of deals continue to hold sway and that they are based on corruption instead of public welfare. He vowed to continue his political fight till elimination of this corrupt system and governments. He said neither have we deviated from our destination nor will we, adding that changing the destiny of the people is our destination and we would stay put in our struggle till we achieve the objective of revolution. He said that he would continue to go abroad for brief durations to organize the affairs of PAT overseas chapters and medical check-ups. He, however, made it clear that even if he were to struggle for years on end, he wouldn’t be found wanting in his resolve to win this war.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri stated categorically that there is no misunderstanding or difference between the top leaderships of PAT and PTI, adding that we continue to stay engaged at different levels. He said that no formal invitation has been extended to him to attend PTI’s public meeting on Nov 30, saying that in case PTI invited us, the party would decide over it.