-- Achakzai makes snide insinuations against army
-- Nisar likens sit-ins to mutiny
-- Amendments to FIR against Nawaz add to Qadri's seemingly misplaced optimism
-- Negotiators resume talks but Imran says will not give an inch on demand for PM's resignation
Aitzaz said that the Model Town tragedy was a brutal act and a failure of the provincial government to let Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PTA) lodge a first information report provided plausible grounds to the organisation's leader Dr Tahirul Qadri to launch a protest movement. He further stated that the police are no longer ready to obey the government's verbal orders after the Model Town incident because they have been held responsible after the inquiry report.
Aitzaz regretted that the government's decision to remove small obstacles in Lahore's Model Town led to create big hurdles across Punjab. He added that if a small obstacle in Model Town was unconstitutional, the blockade of roads by containers across the province was also unconstitutional. All the political parties in the parliament support democracy and constitution unconditionally, which was not easy for them in the face of Punjab government's attitude towards their workers.
"We are being questioned by party workers for providing support to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif especially when the Punjab government has used all the means to victimise Pakistan People's Party workers by cancelling their lawful contracts and jobs," he said adding that the parliament is standing behind the Prime Minister and nothing will happen to him. According to him, no one can force Prime Minister to resign if he does not want to do so. He, however, expressed fears that the present government, which has been very arrogant and started passing some respect to the Parliament only after PTI and PAT protests, will even become more arrogant once the crisis is over.
He also advised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to examine the people around him as twice before his government was removed and he is facing same situation. Aitzaz vehemently criticised the leadership of Inqilab March and Azadi March and stated that there is need to bring about a 'revolution'. He asked about the fault of the smaller provinces. He also asked why their assemblies should be dissolved. He said these protesters are talking about the constitution and rule of law in their speeches but have no respect for it.
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui of Muttahid Quami Movement (MQM) said that his party is against the attacks on democratic institutions. He added that it is the responsibility of the elected leaders to save democracy as it cannot be saved in presence of deepening poverty, growing illiteracy and rampant corruption. He added that his party is ready to sacrifice twenty five seats of National Assembly with a view to 'saving democracy'. He further stated democracy cannot be strengthened if democratic institutions are turned into family ventures.
Siddiqui said his party strongly condemns the attacks on state television and parliament but at the same time underlines the need for giving justice to the families of the Model Town incident. According to him, if there is any conspiracy behind the incident it must be exposed. He said his party wants the government to implement the decision of not using force in Karachi and across the country. He said if anyone from the MQM had incited people for xicil disobedience, he would have been charged with treason.
Federal Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan likened the protests and sit-ins of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) to mutiny against state of Pakistan. Opening debate in joint sitting of the Parliament on the prevailing political situation on Tuesday, the Minister said, "the Parliament should remove misunderstanding over whether protests and sit-ins of PTI and PAT are democratic or not, but I understand it is a mutiny against Pakistan. These are not protests or sit-ins but a mutiny against the state institutions and Pakistan."
He said it is like invading the state institutions and the whole nation and Parliament is against it. He said that the nation stands by their elected representatives and it is watching the situation. "The PTI and PAT workers have attacked the Prime Minister's House, the Parliament building and Pakistan Television (PTV) office, which is a mutiny against the state institutions," he said.
He said the protesters of both the parties not only damaged the machinery of the PTV on Monday but also took away their two cameras worth Rs 1.6 million. He said over 100 policemen have been injured in a clash with protesters, adding they would be identified through CCTV footages. The Minister claimed that he has clear information that some of these protesters are trained terrorists and belong to a militant outfit. He said the two parties are disassociating themselves from the PTV incident. An inquiry will be held with the co-operation of NADRA to identify those responsible.
"This House has to decide about the role that it can play and the mechanism that it needs to adopt to resolve the issue. It is a reality that both the parties have a hidden agenda and they are giving an impression that they enjoy the support of army. Using army's name is unconstitutional. Involving army in political matters is against the country."
The Interior Minister said that PTI Chairman Imran Khan should be summoned to the parliament and the Supreme Court to answer why they used the name of army for political purpose, as the institution has time and again declared itself apolitical. The Minister also condemned the Police attacks on media persons during the coverage of the protests of PTI and PAT on Sunday.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party said that all political parties are committed to protecting Constitution. He said "All militaries of the world respect their constitutions and our army also respects it." Achakzai said storming of the parliament by protesters amounts to sedition and terrorism. According to him, security forces should be given instructions to rid the area of 'these saboteurs'. He asked PTI and PAT to demonstrate sagacity and allow their supporters to go back.
While debating on the issue, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that conspiracy is being hatched to derail democracy in the country and the parliament has exposed that conspiracy. He said some mistakes were made by the government and other forces took benefits of those mistakes.
The Maulana said, "It is not a matter of resignation of a prime minister but the Parliament. We cannot separate the Prime Minister from Parliament. The Prime Minister would remain intact and his resignations will not be taken," He said, "attacks on the state buildings including the parliament House by protesters are bringing a bad name to the country and it is administrative and constitutional responsibility of the government to clear Islamabad of these extremist elements." He said treason cases should be lodged against the PAT and PTI leadership for attacking state institutions.
"If a treason case could be lodged against Sufi Muhammad for not accepting the constitution, then why such cases cannot be registered against those who are not accepting the Constitution now and are attempting to take over state institutions including parliament," he asked. Appreciating the unity shown by the parties in the parliament, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri should demonstrate moral courage and admit their political demise.
The Maulana asked Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Saddiq that why he has not accepted the resignations of PTI MNAs. On the resignations of PTI members, Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said he was delaying the process for acceptance of resignations under the spirit of greater reconciliation.
He however said that the sense of the august house will be honoured at all costs. He said he has yet to determine whether or not all the PTI members have tendered their resignations under their own free will. In a seemingly befitting response to the joint session of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), the leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) formally joined hands on Tuesday, reiterating their resolve that they would not leave the federal capital till the Sharif brothers stepped down.
It was a rare spectacle on the 20th day of anti-government protests that PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri stood beside PTI chairman Imran Khan atop a PTI 'Azadi March' container from where he addressed protesters. While addressing the PAT and PTI workers, Qadri vehemently rejected the allegations that PAT and PTI sit-ins were backed by army. He added that it was a propaganda campaign launched by anti-protest forces to sabotage their pro-democracy efforts.
He disowned the attack on Pakistan Television (PTV) building, saying that violence was not a part of his peaceful march strategy. He added that there was strong possibility that the state-run television was attacked by some PML-N workers. "Our people were heading towards the PM's House to stage a sit-in... maybe some PML-N Gullu Butts were involved in PTV attack," he said.
Referring to the joint session of the Parliament, Qadri said: "The constitution or democracy about which the parliamentarians talk have not been implemented. The parliamentary leaders think Imran and I are enemies of democracy and Constitution whereas we both are struggling for true democracy in the country." Qadri severely criticised Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai for his statement in the joint sitting of the parliament, saying that Achakzai "pretends he is 'champion of democracy' but only for his personal gains as his brother is Governor Balochistan and his other close relatives hold key posts in Balochistan."
He said that not a single Article of the constitution on fundamental rights of people had been implemented despite a lapse of 41 years. "Our struggle is to implement Articles of the constitution that give rights to people". Qadri maintained that PAT and PTI believed in the form of democracy and stood for 180 million people of Pakistan while the members of assembly believed in the democracy which protects the elites.
Qadri said that Articles 1-40 of the constitution give rights to the people of Pakistan, but the people of Pakistan were never given their rights during the last 41 years. He said that his struggle was for the rights of the people and those who had not given the rights to the people of Pakistan should be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution. Congratulating the protesters, he said that anti-terrorism clause and some other clauses have been added to the Model Town FIR due to public pressure.
APP adds: Chief of Pakhtoonkhaw Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Mehmood Khan Achakzai on Tuesday asked the government to order security forces to throw out "terrorist gypsies" stationed in the premises of the Parliament House. He urged the Parliament to invoke Article 245 of the Constitution as it is a clear act of terrorism by the agitators. Participating in country's current political situation in Joint Session of the Parliament, he said from 40,000 to 50,000 security forces were capable to teach a lesson to agitators; they need only clear orders to do so.
He asked the workers of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to leave the premises of Parliament House. If the government fails to do so - the PkMAP will kick out protesters on its own. The entire Parliament is standing like a rock behind the Prime Minister, according to him. He said media should not cross the 'red lines'.
He said Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was enjoying the support of entire Parliament, civil society, media, bar associations, etc. All parties can gather 50 million people on a single call. Chief of Tehreek Nifaz-e-Sharia-e-Muhammadi Maulana Sufi Muhammad had been incarcerated for making identical unconstitutional demands. Both Qadri and Imran should be dealt with in a similar fashion.
Talks resume: The government resumed stalled talks with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) after opposition political parties lent a helping hand to it with a view to finding a solution to stand-off. A delegation led by Ameer Jamat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq held separate meetings with Imran Khan and Qadri late Tuesday night. The members of Siraj's delegation were Farooq Sattar, Rehman Malik, Hasil Bizenjo, Ghazi Gulab Jamal, Liaquat Baloch and Senator Kulsum Perveen.
The PTI vice-chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi was heading his party's delegation. The talks were held at the residence of PTI secretary general Jehangir Tareen. After a meeting with Imran and Qadri in their containers, Rehman Malik told media that he was optimistic that they would succeed in breaking the deadlock.
Sirajul Haq said their meeting took place in a very cordial atmosphere, adding the committees would try it level best so reach an agreement acceptable to both sides. He further said that the opposition political parties were ready to become a guarantor regarding implementation of the decisions of the negotiating committees during the dialogue process. Siraj said that if an agreement was reached it would be immediately made public so that no party could back out from its commitment.
About a new round of talks, he said it would be resumed from where it ran into snags. "We must take it [talks] seriously as dialogue is the only way forward to resolve the ongoing political crisis," he maintained. About a crackdown on PAT-PTI workers by the police, he blamed the government for its failure to handle the situation with magnanimity, adding instead of resorting to confrontation, they should have adopted the course of negotiation.