LAHORE– PML-N has expressed serious reservations over the federal government talks with Tehrik-e-Minhajul Quran Chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri after the Supreme Court, through its decision, has made the latter an outcast to play any role in the matters of the upcoming general elections.
The PML-N looks askance at the ruling PPP as it believes that Qadri is being backed by the government to either spoil the elections or back him against the N-League to damage its vote bank. The PML-N is, however, geared to meet any challenge being likely to be thrown by the government-Qadri developments.
The federal government must respect the Supreme Court decision regarding dismissal of the petition filed by Dr Qadri against the Election Commission of Pakistan while holding the petitioner not habouring good intentions about the next elections, said PML-N Senator Pervez Rashid while talking to The Nation on Saturday. “The government’s willingness to talk to Qadri after the court had expressed serious objections to his intentions creates doubts about the government’s sincerity regarding the next elections and the PML-N is monitoring well all this,” he said.
He said the government disregard to the Supreme Court verdict showed it was backing Qadri to play another drama while the PML-N would again foil the aatempt as it had done on the occasion of the long march.
Pervez said the PPP had shown poor performance during the five-year rule and had no achievement to attract the voters in the next elections, so it was attempting to spoil the elections or cause harm to the PML-N. He said his party had full confidence in the Election Commission whereas Qadri was opposed to it and if the government harboured no ill will, it should go for the elections instead of manipulating with Qadri.
The Sheikhul Islam and the government team on January 17 last struck an agreement in Islamabad. Singed by the prime minister on behalf of the government, the agreement recognised Qadri as a necessary party in nominating the caretaker prime minister and interim set-up to ensure strict implementation of articles 62 and 63 in addition to making reforms in the Election Commission by way of its reconstitution after dissolution.
The first concession to Qadri did not irk much the other parties as it made Qadri a part of the government team while the Election Commission vowed to strictly carry out the said provisions of the Constitution about the candidates, but dissolution of the ECP was not possible under the Constitution, so it was denied outright.
This led Qadri to move the Supreme Court which dismissed his petition within three hearings with observations that the petitioner, being a dual nationality holder, was not entitled to contest election, so had no loss of fundamental rights if relief was denied.
The verdict observed that the petitioner had come to the court with mala fide intentions. After these remarks, the PML-N firmly holds that Dr Qadri has lost ground to talk about elections or the Election Commission matters with the government, so it has serious reservations.