PAT stages sit-in in Lahore, four other cities

LAHORE: The Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) on Saturday staged sit-ins in five cities across Pakistan kickstarting its countrywide Qisas (blood money) movement over the killing of party workers in the Model Town incident in 2014.

In Lahore, the rally was led by PAT Secretary General Khurram Nawaz Gandapur from the GPO, which culminated at the Charing Cross where they staged a sit-in for some time before dispersing peacefully. The participants included women and children besides charged workers who carried flags, banners and placards inscribed with different slogans.

PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri addressed the participants from his house via phone as he made it clear that they would not retreat without taking Qisas of the martyrs of the Model Town tragedy. He assured the workers that the time was not far when justice would be done.

He said his party had started the Qisas march and movement for accountability on the PanamaLeaks issue and they would not rest until getting justice. He said the decisive sit-in would be held on August 30, adding that the time had come when rulers would seen fleeing the country, but they would find shelter in India only.

Qadri claimed that millions of workers had participated in the rallies and more were to join when he would personally attend the protest.

He said there was no need of a democracy in which the prime minister was not answerable.

PTI leaders Mehmood-ur-Rashid and Shoaib Siddiqui besides Kamil Ali Agha, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin and others of PML-Q were also present on the occasion. Workers of Awami Muslim League, Jamaat-e-Islami, PPP, MWM and Sunni Ittehad Council also joined the sit-in.

Rallies and sit-ins were also held in Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Gujranwala. In Rawalpindi, Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid supervised the protest.

On the other hand, a deadlock between the government and PAT continued to persist over the permission to hold a sit-in in Islamabad. The negotiations proved fruitless after which the protesters threatened to march towards parliament.

The local administration had barred the PAT from holding a sit-in at the Aabpara Chowk as it was an important business district.