Addressing a hurriedly called press conference, PAT Chairman Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri has demanded that the principal accused in the Model Town case namely Rana Sanaullah and Shahbaz Sharif should be arrested and those of the accused who were not summoned in the private complaint proceedings should be summoned and apprehended, stating whether the courts accept their bail or not is the job of the courts. He said that Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif were the mastermind of the tragedy and Rana Sanaullah got it implemented with the full support and the complicity of the administration. He said that removal of barriers was merely an excuse, adding that the real agenda of the police action was to stop his arrival in Pakistan and to crush the PAT’s democratic right to protest. He said that Justice Baqar Najafi clearly wrote in the report that the police did what it was ordered to do. He said that all those officials and authorities who appeared before the Tribunal tried their level best to hide the facts and save each other’s skin.
Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said that the Chief Minister’s order to disengage could not be established in the inquiry nor did he mention it in his press conference. He said that both the Law Minister and Home Secretary also did not mention the disengagement order of the Chief Minister in their affidavits. He said that Justice Najafi wrote that people tell a lie but are proven to be wrong by the events and the sequence of their happening.
The PAT Chairman asked the party to keep his container ready 24/7. He also directed workers to stay alert and ready, stating that he could give the call for protest any moment. PAT Secretary General Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, Noorullah Siddiqi, Jawad Hamid, Sajid Bhatti, Naeem-ud-Din Chaudhry, Raja Zahid and others were present on the occasion.
Dr Qadri said that he had a programme of going for an Umrah but added in the same breath that it is an optional worship whereas waging a struggle in the aid of the oppressed is an obligation. He said that he has convened a meeting of PAT Central Core Committee to work out the next line of action, which will also be attended by the legal team. He said that we will not take any decision in haste. He stated that if it was felt that hurdles are being created in the way of justice, then all options including the sit-in are open. He said that we have got a certified copy of the report but added that we are trying to get the original report written by Justice Baqar Najafi and once the report is available, we will compare its contents with the released version to ascertain the facts.
The PAT Chairman said that he has his PhD degree in Criminology. He taught law all his life and is in a better position to understand the difference between the philosophy of crime and law. He said that the report that the Punjab government has issued on the orders of the High Court is enough to prove Rana Sanaullah and Shahbaz Sharif guilty. He said that the propaganda of the report being incomplete is based on deceit and twisting of facts. He said that the report has identified the culprits at different places.
Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said that at the time of starting the inquiry, Justice Baqar Najafi wrote a letter under Section 11 of the Inquiries Act in which he demanded that he should be given powers to identify the responsible which were not given on the orders of the Chief Minister. He said that it is mentioned in the report that the barriers were placed on the orders of the court and that the purpose of meeting held on June 16, 2014 was the return of Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri to the country and all those who attended the meeting knew that the barriers were put there on the orders of the court. He said that page no 66-67 of the report are very important in which the honorable Justice wrote that there was no compatibility between the unarmed workers and the heavily armed police party that raided his residence and the secretariat of MQI. He said that in other words it means that if the operation was related to removal of barrier, there was no need of deputing a heavy and properly armed contingent of police.
Dr Qadri said that according to the report, it is the officer of the ASP, DSP and SP level that orders the police to fire but when confronted with the questions as to who gave firing orders, no one really spoke up and they tried to hide the facts from the Judge. He said that it was an agreement among the accused that none of them would speak the truth. He said that page no 68 states that it appears that there was an authority behind the whole act whose orders were required to be complied with. The attackers were sent to Model Town with the task that they had to accomplish their objectives regardless of dead bodies. He said that persistent efforts were made to mask the facts. He said that the Commission wrote that the facts as enumerated by those who appeared before it are not the real facts of the tragedy.
The PAT Chairman said that the Commission also expressed its surprise as to the causes of the appointment of IG Punjab Mushtaq Sukhera and transfer of DCO Lahore. He said that the Chief Minister submitted a fake affidavit in which he maintained that he came to know of the standoff in Model Town at 9:00 am in the morning of June 17. He said that the fact remains that Secretary to CM Dr Touqir Shah attended the meeting on June 16 in which he conveyed Chief Minister’s message and desire to the participants. He said that Justice Najafi wrote that the barriers were placed under the supervision of police and it continued to guard them for three years and during this time, no complaint of the people of the neighborhood came to the fore. He said that Justice Najafi also stated in the report that no cogent reasons for spelled out for the transfer of IGP Khan Beg. There was no accusation of corruption or incompetence against the former IG and the reasons shared by the government appear contrary to the facts on the ground.
Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said that the honorable justice wrote a sentence at the end that the reader of the report will fix the responsibility himself as to who are the persons responsible for Model Town tragedy. He said that we are getting the report translated in Urdu and its copies will be distributed in the country. He said that the perpetrators of Model Town will not be able to escape justice. He said that we are in touch with all parties. He said that the ministers are telling a lie with straight face for worldly interests. He said that the government has a very limited time in office and they will have be held accountable in the court of Allah Almighty as well.
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