LAHORE: Pakistan Awami Tehreek chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri has deferred the joint opposition’s protest movement on the Model Town killings without taking his allies on board.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Mulsim League-Quaid (PML-Q) -- the main components of the 12-party alliance forged with the stated aim of seeking justice for Model Town victims’ families -- say they have not been consulted by the PAT chief before announcing the ‘temporary postponement’ of the drive to oust the PML-N governments in the Centre and Punjab.

Dr Qadri on Sunday had announced the PAT would speed up its legal struggle to seek justice for the Model Town victims, thus it was postponing the protests for the “time being”.

However, it has transpired that the PAT deferred the protest movement primarily after the PTI refused to share any platform with the PPP in the next round of the campaign.

“We refused to sit along with the PPP on any platform as it had proved very damaging for us in the Jan 17 Mall Road show in Lahore. This has been conveyed to Dr Qadri,” a PTI leader told Dawn on Monday.

Requesting anonymity, he said the PTI stood by the PAT as far as Model Town incident was concerned, but it decided in principle not to be part of any alliance of which the PPP was a component.

“Elections are not far away and we cannot afford such controversies any more,” he said.

The opposition’s maiden show in Lahore was marred by controversies like ‘empty chairs,’ Imran Khan and Sheikh Rashid cursing the parliament and poor coordination among the participating parties.

PTI chairman Imran Khan has also categorically ruled out any alliance with PPP.

Talking to Dawn, PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry, PPP Punjab Secretay General Chaudhry Manzoor and PML-Q information secretary Senator Kamil Ali Agha said their parties were with Dr Qadri to seek justice for the Model Town victims, but they were not consulted on PAT’s decision to defer the agitation.

“It is Dr Qadri’s own decision. The steering committee having representation of all the allying parties should have been consulted for future course of action,” Senator Agha said, adding the opposition parties had gathered on one-point agenda - seeking justice for Model Town victims.

Chaudhry Manzoor of the PPP said Dr Qadri had prerogative to ‘unilaterally’ decide the fate of the protest campaign.

A source in the opposition conceded that the show on he Mall was ‘very poor’ and it got drubbing from the ruling party as well as the media.

“Dr Qadri’s decision to defer the protest movement has stamped that the opposition alliance on this matter failed miserably to achieve its purpose - ouster of the PML-N government - and his allies could not work together on the PAT’s platform.”

PAT spokesman Noorullah Siddique told Dawn that the party had changed its focus from protest to legal course in this case temporarily. “We will consult our allies on resuming protest movement soon,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2018