LAHORE, Dec 25: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has demanded the judiciary and the election authority should probe into the huge expenses incurred on the Lahore public meeting of Dr Tahirul Qadri.

“The chief justice (of Pakistan) and the chief election commissioner should take notice of the huge expenses incurred on the Lahore meeting and seek details of expenditure on its publicity, transport provided to the participants and other arrangements,” PML-N MNA from Faisalabad Abid Sher Ali demanded in a statement issued here on Tuesday.

He claimed billions of rupees were spent on the show by a leader championing the cause of electoral reforms for providing a level playfield to all to contest the polls. Dr Qadri should himself put details of the expenses and of the financers and their motives before the people, he demanded.

He also urged all political parties to seriously consider that at whose behest the religious scholar had returned to the country after spending years abroad and was seeking postponement of elections.

Tariq Azim, another Nawaz League leader, said ‘dual face’ of Dr Qadri stood exposed when he admitted having Canadian nationality as well.
He urged Mr Qadri to show ‘moral courage’ and explain whether he had mentioned his dual nationality in his candidature while contesting 2002 general election.

Dr Qadri had won from National Assembly constituency NA-127 (Lahore) in the polls held during Musharraf regime.

Azim, a former senator, said Qadri did not stress rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution in his long speech but proposed caretaker set-up that was ‘extra-constitutional’.

He explained that the Constitution calls for appointing caretakers through consultation between the leaders of the house and the opposition but Dr Qadri, in violation of this provision, was seeking involvement of the judiciary and the armed forces in the process.