Qadri and the courts

The writer is a freelance
contributor.

Such is the state of affairs in the land of the pure that a person who is not even entitled and eligible to contest elections in Pakistan and consequently indulge in politics has created quite a stir on the political landscape of the country and has, in connivance with other political actors, almost came close to derailing the system in December 2014.

Tahirul Qadri suddenly returned from his adopted country, Canada, in December 2012 after seven years with a proclaimed mission to have the corrupt system rolled up, and ensure that the constitution was implemented in its true spirit and the eligibility criteria prescribed in articles 62 and 63 of the constitution for the members of the legislatures was strictly adhered to.

He organised a long march that began from Lahore on January 13, 2013 which eventually turned into a four-day sit-in at Islamabad during which he continued to hurl threats at the government and give deadlines for his demands to be fulfilled – or else. The circus finally ended on January 17 when the government signed an agreement with him, promising reforms in the ECP, a change in the electoral laws and allowing a 30-day period for pre-scrutiny of the candidates in conformity with the constitutional eligibility criteria. The government ostensibly did this to end the fracas.

Qadri also filed a petition in the Supreme Court of Pakistan for reconstitution of the Election Commission of Pakistan; this was dismissed by the court due to his ineligibility for filing the petition being a foreign national. The court also held that he could not contest elections in Pakistan. The verdict clearly put a bar on his participation in Pakistani politics. Having failed to fulfil his declared mission, he returned to Canada.

Qadri then returned to Pakistan again in June 2014, a week after the sad firing incident at his residence in Model Town in which 14 people lost their lives and several others sustained bullet wounds. He vowed that he would take revenge for the murders of his followers and launch a movement for the removal of the PML-N government.

In this, he found an ally in Imran Khan who was agitating about the alleged rigging in Elections 2013 and had an avowed mission to get rid of the government. These two then planned and executed the ‘Azadi’ and ‘Inqilab’ marches on Islamabad beginning on August 14, 2014 and staged a joint sit-in at the capital that lasted for 126 days, though Qadri quit it in October and dashed back to Canada.

It is pertinent to point out that before embarking on their march the PTI and PAT presented some demands to the government which included: (a) the prime minister should step down; (b) parliament be dissolved; (c) the ECP be re-constituted; and (d) an interim government of technocrats be formed and elections held. The Lahore High Court, on a petition filed by a private citizen asking the marches be stopped, declared the demands unconstitutional and also ordered the parties to refrain from their marches and sit-ins.

The parties, though, did not care about the high court orders and went ahead with their plan, which many people who understood what was going on behind the scenes, claim was a conspiracy to destabilise the government. This view was reinforced by the developments that took place during the sit-in – like the attack on parliament, PTV and the assault on high-ranking officials of the police by PAT and PTI workers, the statements of Javed Hashmi an Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s brother and the article written by General (r) Aslam Baig.

Somehow the plan failed to materialise. Dejected by the indifference of the umpire, Qadri left the arena leaving Imran to carry on alone. Imran also had to end it after 126 days without having his dream to barge into the corridors of power fulfilled. What Qadri did during the sit-in and his disrespect for the court orders could have easily landed him behind bars had the government and the courts not shown the level of tolerance that they did.

Qadri is back for having a third go at the government. He has declared that his movement for ‘Qisas” and probe into the Panama leaks will not end till the rulers are brought to justice. His return and launch of the said movement coincides with Imran Khan’s agitation against the government on the issue of the Panama leaks.

Whether they would be able to garner mass support to destabilise the government remains to be seen. But by the look of things and recent political developments in the country, it is not difficult to infer that the people are most probably not likely to respond in numbers that could be a cause of worry for the government. The tone and tenor of the PTI after the recent electoral setback in Azad Kashmir also lack the intensity with which the party and its chairman have been expressing hope about the success of their anti-government campaign.

The Panama leaks issue is nothing but a political stunt being used by the opposition parties to extract political mileage rather than a genuine desire on their part to end corruption in the country and reform the system that breeds a political culture of graft and entitlement. It is a witch-hunt against the prime minister.

Those who are demanding a probe into the Panama leaks are very clear about the fact that, like the scandals of Surrey Palace and money stashed in the Swiss Banks, nothing will come out of the Panama leaks and all of them will be safe, notwithstanding the fact that the names of their stalwarts etc are included in the list of those who owned offshore companies.

As far as Qadri is concerned, he has no political stake in Pakistan. But being a religious leader who has a considerable following in the country, he is in a position to act as a spoiler. That factor is being exploited by anti-government and anti-democracy forces to stir up trouble in the country. His current campaign is surely not for justice to the families of those killed in Model Town firing. But he and his mentors are trying to use it for political purposes. The case is already in the court so why not wait for the law to take its course?

There is no denying the fact that the police used excessive force in Model Town and overreacted to the obtaining situation. And of course those who are responsible must be held accountable. However, it is also worth pointing out that before the police resorted to firing, the PAT crowd had already turned violent and were throwing brick bats and stones at the police. Their workers carried clubs and also assaulted police personnel.

According to some eyewitnesses the police swung into action after some bullets were fired their way by PAT workers. The conduct of the PAT workers constituted defiance of the writ of the state. Law-enforcement agencies all over the world react to such situations with varying degree of responses to establish the writ of the state. Nobody nominates the rulers of the land in FIRs if there are any casualties during the action of law-enforcement agencies.

Such actions are taken by the authorities on the spot when faced with a perilous situation. The critics and detractors of the government seem to have conveniently ignored that aspect.

Email: ashpak10@gmail.com