LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Chairman Tahirul Qadri announced on Saturday that his party will not take part in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Raiwind march.
Qadri said that the march could lead to a ruler’s residence being besieged. “I am announcing that we will not launch any sort of attack on our enemies nor will the party block the streets that lead to their residence,” he said.
“My party’s workers unanimously called for launching a protest but I – as ‘leader’ – announce that I will not violate the boundaries of anyone’s house,” he further said.
Qadri pointed out that PAT’s workers’ houses had been attacked in the past but the party would not avenge that.
“Attacking people’s houses was a habit of the nation’s rulers,” Qadri said and pointed at the Model Town incident on June 17, 2014 – when at least 14 PAT workers were killed.
“I urge the Rangers, the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) and the MI (Military Intelligence) to take notice of how the government had been planning attacks against us.” he said.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan, on Friday, announced to launch a protest in Raiwind – at all costs – and shutdown Lahore, if they are stopped from exercising their ‘democratic right’. However, Imran said that the PTI does not intend to besiege the prime minister’s house and had no history of doing so.
The opposition has been demanding a thorough investigation into the Panama Papers’ controversy and believe that the government has been trying to evade this to cover up its corruption.
