ABBOTTABAD: PAT chairman Dr Allama Tahirul Qadri on Thursday claimed the PTI central leadership knew at least a month ago about his plan to end anti-government sit-in in Islamabad and that he had wounded up the sit-in as a new strategy to send the PML-N government packing.

He was addressing a public meeting here two days after ending the Islamabad sit-in.

Dr Qadri said he wanted to spread his message against the corrupt rulers and system across the country.

“Since I’d to travel to all parts of the country, I opted not to leave party workers and sympathisers alone. We want to bring about a real change in the country by eliminating corrupt rulers and system,” he said.

The PAT chairman said the sit-in against the PML-N government was not over and instead, it would be taken to every nook and corner of the country.

Says ‘London Plan’ claims proven wrong, doesn’t take dictation

He said party workers and sympathisers should ignore the ‘so-called analysts’ criticism of his decision to wrap up the Islamabad sit-in.

Qadri said those claiming that the PTI and PAT sit-ins were part of some ‘London Plan’ had turned out to be wrong and that he did whatever he wanted to without taking dictation.

He also denied he had ended the sit-in after taking money from the government and said he considered taking a single penny to please anyone a great sin.

The PAT chairman said he would stage sit-ins and address public meetings against the PML-N government in Haripur today (Friday), in Bhakkar on November 23, in Sargodha on December 5, in Sialkot on December 14, in Mansehra on December 21 and in Karachi on December 25.

He said it’s the leader to decide about the strategy to win a game.

“Previously, I was batting and now, I’ve begun bowling. I know every well how and when to use bouncer to claim the wicket (to oust the government),” he said.

Qadri said earlier, he thought his sit-in in Islamabad would send the PML-N government packing very soon but it appeared that the Almighty Allah had given some time to the government to stay put. He said he believed he’d got much more out of the sit-in than he had expected at its start.

“Previously, we’d few sympathisers but now, we believe we’ve won the hearts and minds of the entire nation. It’s a big success. With the support of the nation, we’ll oust corrupt rulers,” he said.

The PAT chairman said his party would bring about the much-needed change by vote.

He said he didn’t accept the current Election Commission of Pakistan as lawful and credible and therefore, it should be disbanded.

Qadri asked four ECP members, who were former judges, to step down voluntarily. He said before fresh general elections were held, the current and former rulers and parliamentarians should be held accountable for their actions and that there should also be electoral reforms in the country.

“If accountability and electoral reforms don’t take place, we will not let anyone hold elections,” he said.

The PAT chairman said he and his party workers won’t take rest until corrupt rulers were ousted and the change came about. He said the revolution would be the ultimate winner.

Qadri demanded registration of cases against the people behind riots during the Hazara province movement and said when his party came to power, Hazara would be made a province line with its slogan of turning every division into a province.

Earlier, Sooba Hazara Tehreek chairman Baba Haider Zaman also addressed the public meeting.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2014