ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Awami Tehreek and Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf late Friday night officially announced their alliance and agreed on making further plans with mutual consultations while hoping the real power players would come up with good news regarding their top demands for resignations of the prime minister and the Punjab chief minister.
PAT and PTI both requested the supporters of Dr Tahirul Qadri to show patience for a little more time and stay in the capital. First of all Shah Mehmood Qureshi who along with his team reached the container of Dr Qadri to discuss the future plan requested the PAT crowd to show patience and stay where they were. He categorically said that his leader (Imran Khan) had sent him to make this request.
Later, Dr Qadri reached the stage and announced that the two parties had the same purpose and would act jointly in future. Dr Qadri again told his crowd, “You and PTI crowd are cousins because the purpose is the same and you are the children of the two brothers.”
It is a considered view of many analysts that Dr Qadri and his marchers are appointed by the establishment as the relievers of Imran Khan and PAT’s mob holds the ground in front of the parliament the whole day for Imran Khan. Khan’s people gather in the evening and it is considered that at day time he cannot keep his crowd intact, owing to which his show can flop, but with the help of the PAT he is able to continue his sit-in in front of the parliament.
Dr Qadri, in his late-night speech, gave clear signals that he was looking at the establishment for acceptance of his demands, including resignations of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. In his speech, he said that almost 24 hours earlier at his meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, he had presented his demands and had told him that without acceptance of these demands, no further negotiations were possible.
Then he said, “He is sure Gen Raheel is sincere and wants to resolve the matter in the best interest of the country.” Qadri said Gen Raheel listened to him, but never said that it would happen as was demanded.
Dr Qadri’s attachment with the establishment became very clear again when he said while pointing at the army, “I made several calls to 6 or 7 people repeatedly, but could not contact them, but I hope the reason is that they are busy in resolving the matter in the country’s best interest.” “It is possible that the answer will come soon with a yes to our demands for resignations of the PM, the CM and registration of FIR of Model Town tragedy,” Qadri said, while speaking to his mob.
In his earlier speech, Qadri accused the prime minister and the federal interior minister for lying before the nation that they had not requested the army to mediate between PAT, PTI and the government and that PTI and PAT had made such a request.
He added on Thursday the news was aired and also published in the newspapers that the government had requested the army to play the role of a mediator between it and the marchers who had been in the capital for 14 days to press for resignation of the PM and dismissal of the government with a strength of not more than 20,000 people, mostly consisting of the crowd of Dr Qadri. The government had rejected the news and claimed that PAT and PTI had made such a request to the army and that the PM at his meeting with the chief of army staff had only told him to act as a facilitator, which was a different thing.
Qadri refuted this claim and said, “I reject their statements and categorically say that the prime minister had requested the army to act as a guarantor,” he said. Qadri also said the PM should be impeached for lying in the National Assembly.
Dr Qadri and Imran Khan both seem looking at the army to act in their favour and present them the resignation of the prime minister. Javed Hashmi, a senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader, gave his unpleasant gestures over the army’s intervention in a political matter. While speaking to media persons, he said it was his wish that the matter should be resolved politically.
On the issue of the army’s intervention in the matter as an expected mediator, he also said, “It will be shameful for us.” Javed Hashmi also termed it a disgrace for Pakistan if the army played the role of a mediator in this crisis.
During all the episode of speeches of Dr Qadri and Imran Khan, the government still sticks to its stance that there is no possibility of the prime minister’s resignation, saying the legitimate demands of both the parties could be accepted.