LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri says his movement for change of the governance system will not drift away from its agenda even if the rulers call in the army to check it.
“The movement for change will continue even if the armed forces martyr a couple of thousands of Pakistanis, including me,” Dr Qadri said on Tuesday when asked to comment on reports that the government was considering to call the army under Article 245 in support of the civil administration for tackling any law and order situation in major towns in the wake of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ’s long march and PAT’s call for revolution.
Reluctant to give a final date for the revolution call, he told a group of reporters here on Tuesday that consultations within the PAT and with other parties were continuing and a final decision in this respect would be made shortly.
Asked if his party was opting out of electoral politics, Mr Qadri said it would take part in the electoral exercise but only in the post-revolution scenario after cleansing of the incumbent system and making constitutional changes to check the entry of the corrupt into the power corridors.
“The elections will be the last stage in the revolution.”
Dr Qadri insisted that his revolution was constitutional and democratic in its entirety and it could not be interpreted as subversion of the Constitution.
He argued that the social contract between the citizens and the state stood null and void after the rulers failed to implement the first 40 Articles of the Constitution that pertained to granting rights to the citizens.
“By desecrating the first part of the Constitution (40 Articles plus preamble), how can the ruling classes expect from the ruled to respect the latter part of the Basic Law (240 Articles that deal with the system to run the country and its institution).”
About the funds for political activities of PAT, he claimed that these were generated by annual membership fees as well as donations.
Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2014
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