Agencies/Monitoring
FAISALABAD - Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri has said, “Give me votes, notes (money) and support, and I will give you revolution.”
Addressing the PAT gathering in Faisalabad on Sunday, Tahirul Qadri said that Faisalabad has given its verdict in favour of revolution. He said that the nation is with him and Faisalabad will prove it in the coming elections. He said he will fight the looters with the money the poor will donate.
He said that the current system favours the corrupt only. “My fault was that I gave a 10-point agenda for the welfare of the poor in this country. My fault was that I announced to provide free education to all. My fault was that I announced to make a non-violent country. My fault was that I announced to provide basic necessities of life at half rates to the poor. My fault was that I talked of providing food and shelter to the poor,” said Tahirul Qadri.
“I was punished for all these faults with an attack on my residence. 14 innocent men and women lost their lives. When we observed a ‘Martyrs Day’ in Lahore, 25,000 of our workers were arrested. Then we led a long march to Islamabad and a 60-day sit-in was held in the federal capital. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could have asked his brother Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to resign temporarily but he didn’t,” said the PAT chief.
The Awami Tehreek leader said, “Though their government could not be toppled but my speeches instilled a passion for revolution in the hearts and minds of the nation. As a result, today there are hundreds of thousands of revolutionaries present in this gathering and Faisalabad has given its verdict in favour of revolution.”
The PAT chief said that he wanted to share some facts with the people listening to him. He said that since the 1970s, foreign loans on Pakistan are constantly rising. He said that currently the foreign loans on Pakistan are 65 billion dollars. He alleged that the actual figure of our foreign loans has exceeded 90 billion dollars as the government is portraying the foreign loans worth 35 billion dollars as foreign investment. He said that no government was serious in getting rid of these loans and as a result, people are getting poorer and poorer every day.
Qadri said that if he made visits to all parts of the world, from the United States to Japan, only the overseas Pakistanis will be enough to provide Pakistanis with enough money to pay their foreign loans. He said that revolution will change the lives of people living in all the villages and cities of Pakistan.
“How can people live with only Rs 12,000 monthly salary,” he asked. He said that the current system is anti-people. He said he was doing everything only for the people of Pakistan and had no personal grudges against Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif or Asif Zardari.
The PAT chief announced membership of his party, asking the citizens of Faisalabad to join his forces for his party’s organisation.
“I will be here tomorrow. Become a member of my movement and support me.”
Subsequently, Qadri called for people’s financial and electoral support.
Asking for electoral support, he said, “Support us through your votes. We will contest every election, be it local, national or provincial,” he said. “Gives us votes, and we can turn this country into Quaid’s Pakistan.”
He said the masses were awoke which was in fact a revolution.
“Poor and weak are now ready to fight with the powerful,” he said. “This is the first phase of revolution.”
Dr Qadri also announced to give Faisalabad the status of a province once he comes into power.
“I promise to make Faisalabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, and Rawalpindi separate provinces,” he said. “The Seraiki belt too will be given its due share.”
He said he will bring a Supreme Court bench to Faisalabad, while High Court benches in Jhang, Chiniot and other cities.
Continuing with opposition of the current system, the PAT chief said no government in the country was working for the poor as foreign debt and inflation was increasing by the day.
“The nation’s wealth is being spent to pay the interests on these loans,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday said the government that talks against own army cannot look Indian prime minister in the eye.
Addressing the participants of the PAT’s Faisalabad rally, Elahi said that the people of Faisalabad have given the verdict against the government.