Who pushed Dr Qadri into this mess?

LONDON: A London-based former advisor to Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi played the central role in convincing Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) leader Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri that the “establishment” has made up its mind to give him a leading role in the future government set-up of Pakistan but that would be possible only through launching a violent movement against Nawaz Sharif’s government.

Dr Ejaz Hussain, who advised the former Punjab Chief Minister on ‘Perha Likha Pakistan’ campaign, has been working on Dr Qadri for a few years to convince him that Pakistani establishment is seriously interested in him and that a coalition will be put together which will ensure that Dr Qadri plays the leading role alongside the like-minded people such as Imran Khan, who has joined forces with Dr Qadri in his attempts to dislodge the Nawaz government. Details of the plot were revealed in a weekend exclusive of Najam Sethi’s programme on Geo called Aapas Ki Baat.

There is no evidence that the establishment supported Dr Hussain in his views but Dr Hussain has been telling people openly - and especially to Dr Qadri - that he is “well connected” within the security establishment and knows the right people. It is clear that Dr Qadri took Dr Ejaz Hussain seriously and finds himself in this mess today.

Najam Sethi revealed how Dr Ejaz became so influential within the ranks of Minhaj-ul-Quran despite having no official position in the party.

Dr Ejaz is in Pakistan and was not available to comment on his UK or Pakistan numbers but top sources at PAT, Minhaj-ul-Quran and security sources spoke to these scribes.

A spokesman of PAT in London confirmed that Dr Ejaz Hussain “is close to Dr Qadri, has known him for a long time and has been advising Dr Qadri on various issues of politics but he has no role within Minhaj-ul-Qauran or PAT”.

Video footage in Aapas Ki Baat showed that Dr Ejaz Hussain shadowed Dr Qadri when he held talks with Chaudhries and Imran Khan in London to strike a pact to return to Pakistan to launch a coordinated movement for the overthrow of the Nawaz government. He was present during the press conferences Dr Qadri held in London and sat in meetings during closed-door talks with Qadri and the PML-Q.

Dr Hussain travelled with Dr Qadri to Pakistan and can be seen whispering in his ears in pictures and videos that went viral which showed Dr Qadri travelling first class from London to Dubai on and then the emirates flight to Islamabad which was diverted to Lahore.

PAT sources in Lahore confirmed that Dr Ejaz, after landing in Pakistan with Dr Qadri, has been staying in Gymkhana and meeting Dr Qadri regularly. He prepared notes for all his media talks during the month of Ramazan. “We were all surprised that Dr Qadri preferred his advice over party leaders.”

Dr Ejaz briefly returned to London for Eid but has since been with Dr Qadri for the ‘revolution’ march and dherna in Islamabad.

Senior sources within PAT have confirmed to The News that it was surprising that Dr Ejaz Hussain was able to exercise so much influence over Dr Qadri. They said that Dr Ejaz met Dr Qadri in Canada also and remained in touch with him throughout. They said Dr Hussain convinced Dr Qadri that he has been picked up to head the future setup and he must get himself ready, although several senior advisors told Dr Qadri that the move might be very risky.

When asked why Dr Ejaz was given such prominence that he acted as the coordinator between Dr Qadri and some people in Pakistan during his travel and it was him sitting next to Dr Qadri throughout the journey and not the PAT officials, the PAT spokesman in London said: “Dr Ejaz travelled with Dr Qadri but it didn’t mean anything and that’s not a crime. You should ask why PML-N leader Raja Zafar-ul-Haq also travelled in the same plane from Dubai to Pakistan.”

Dr Hussain made several appearances with Dr Qadri and can be seen standing with Dr Qadri during the speeches Dr Qadri made after landing in Pakistan.

In London, Dr Ejaz Hussain has been telling people that he is a guest lecturer at the National Defence University in Islamabad and also claims that he has done his doctorate from a UK university. He says he has taught at the University of Reading and a few other universities but there were no independent confirmations of that.

Eyewitnesses who travelled with Dr Qadri to Pakistan say that Dr Qadri spoke to many people using Dr Ejaz Hussain’s phone and was assured that Khomeini-style crowd of tens of thousands will receive him - leading to the downfall of Nawaz Sharif’s government. When Dr Qadri’s plane was diverted to Lahore, Dr Ejaz was heard saying ‘Ali saheb has let us down, he had ensured us that every thing was under control, the landing will definitely be at Islamabad airport but he has not delivered’.

When asked if Dr Ejaz is right about his claim that he is the architect of Dr Qadri’s model for a new Pakistan, the spokesman agreed that Dr Ejaz has written papers for Dr Qadri but he said that the party’s constitution was written nearly 15 years ago and doesn’t have anything to do with Dr Ejaz Hussain’s papers.

Earlier this year when Dr Qadri visited Iran, Dr Ejaz accompanied him and took part in meetings. A source who was part of that visit has confirmed that Dr Ejaz played the role of a coordinator and arranged Dr Qadri’s telephone talks with officials from Pakistan who also happened to be visiting Iran at the same time.