ISLAMABAD - Political cousin of PTI Chief Imran Khan, Dr. Tahirul Qadri of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), is unlikely to participate in PTI’s grand public meeting in Islamabad on November 30, sources said on Sunday.
There are conflicting reports about Qadri’s return from the United States visit with PAT leaders saying he would return before the PTI public meeting while credible sources in the PTI are clueless about Dr. Qadri’s programme.
“Honestly, Imran Khan has no idea whether the PAT chief or his party workers would participate in 30 November public meeting,” remarked a PTI senior leader requesting anonymity.
On the other hand, the sources in PAT say Dr. Qadri would return to Pakistan later this month and insist their Chairman would participate in PTI’s public meeting provided Imran Khan invited him.
This sorry state of affairs suggests a deep trust deficit between the political cousins largely because of Dr. Qadri’s unilateral decision to end his two months plus protest sit-in at the D-Chowck leaving both Imran Khan as well as his key partners Chaudhrys of Gujrat in an embarrassing situation.
Dr. Qadri who had led a revolution march on August 14 from Lahore and staged the sit-in at D-Chowk Islamabad for 67 days called off his protest on October 21 asking his diehard supporters to go back to their homes as PAT would organize sit-ins in all over the country.
According to Imran, Qadri did take him into confidence before ending his unprecedented protest sit-in. However, despite Imran Khan’s pleas Dr. Qadri called off his protest.
Background discussions and interviews with PAT and its allied parties including PML-Q suggest that he was convinced to call off his sit-in primarily for the advent of Muharram.
The sources said that despite allout efforts by Chaudhry Shujjat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elhai to continue the sit-in, Qadri did not pay heed. Rather he followed the advice of Raja Nasir Abbas and Sahibzada Hamid Raza, two other key partners of Dr. Qadri, to end the sit-in, some sources say.
The PAT sources further said that Qadri has asked the supporters to complete reorganization of the party at the national level by the end of the year and prepare for elections. According to them, PAT would not only take part in the bye-elections but would also take part in the Local Bodies elections.
The PAT sources strongly rejected the reports that Qadri had ended the sit-in as result of some tacit understanding with the ruling PML-N and described these reports a mere propaganda.