By Saeed Qureshi
Last evening Dr. Tahirul-Qadri was
the guest speaker at a reception hosted in his honor at Double Tree Hotel by the
local chapters of PAT (Pakistan Awami Tehrik) and his religious seminary Minhajul
Quran. Iqbal Ahsan was the moderator.
It was a unique occasion as a few days
ago Dr. Qadri was in Islamabad leading a prolonged Dharna (sit-in) against the
incumbent government of PMLN and to press for the ouster of Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif. His counterpart Imran Khan spearheading the similar mission is
still doggedly entrenched in Islamabad occasionally addressing the public
meetings in other cities of Pakistan.
Dr. Qadri, all of a sudden, called
off the sit-ins. No one can figure out any motives behind that least expected
decision. Earlier he has been persistently and vigorously pledging to remain in
the political battleground in the federal capital of Pakistan till the
resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother Shahbaz
Sharif the chief minister of Punjab, the largest province Pakistan.
For several decades, Dr. Qadri has
been devotedly engaged in the preaching and dissemination of Islam under the
aegis of the Minhajul Quran based in Lahore. Later he founded PAT primarily a
political party aimed at ushering Pakistan into a revolution based upon Misaq-i-Madina
(the Medina Pact.
Misaq-i-Medina was a kind of deal that Prophet Muhammad
entered into with non Muslims for peaceful coexistence and also for
delineation of their rights. Misaq-i-Madina is an epitome for Allama Qadri
for the establishment of an Islamic regime in Pakistan.
Dr. Qadri’s sermon last evening was
a replay and replica of what he has been disseminating all these years. It
was a scholarly yet dreary speech that was befitting for the highly qualified
and educated people particularly having expertise in legal and constitutional
matters.
Dr. Qadri mainly and mostly delved
on emphasizing the relevant clauses of Pakistan’s constitution related to
democracy, fundamental rights and the obligations and responsibilities of
the state towards the people. The common folks and ordinary people in the
audience might not have grasped the essence of Dr. Qadri off- repeated
explanation and elucidation of the constitution of Pakistan.
The audience would rather want to
know why he suddenly called off the sit-in campaign and dashed to the foreign
lands. He did not unfold his future plans. He chose not to criticize his
principal victim Mian Nawaz Nawaz against whom he has been yelling and
prompting his followers to raise slogan of “Go Nawaz Go”. When some
sentimentally charged PAT members raised this slogan in the hall, Dr.
Qadri visibly seemed embarrassed and waved them to hold their sloganeering.
Dr. Qadri also skipped to mention about
his long association of nearly 70 days of sit-in with Imran Khan the rabble-rouser chief of the PTI (Pakistan Tehrik-i- Insaf), in Islamabad. It appeared
as if he was deliberately trying to avoid any mention of Imran Khan’s continued
presence for so long in the federal capital of Pakistan.
He casually mentioned
the police attack on his house causing loss of several precious lives. His reference
to that barbaric killing spree by the Punjab police lacked vigor and emphasis
that he has been incessantly demonstrating in Pakistan.
In his speech, Dr. Qadri proposed a
kind of American Union of Pakistanis to act collectively for their rights here
in America and in Pakistan. It was a vague idea and Dr. Qadri did not
elaborate it further.
Perhaps Dr. Qadri is not aware of the deep seated disunity
and mutual discords between the Pakistanis all over in America. If a small
society like PSNT in Dallas is controversial then how it would be possible to
create an all encompassing umbrella body representing the entire Pakistani
community in America.
He supported the rights of expatriate
Pakistanis to vote and contest elections in Pakistan. But that was merely a show
of endorsing some suggestions coming from various local speakers welcoming the
chief guest.
Dr. Qadri did not unfold his future
plans whether he would continue his rallies and protest marches in Pakistan or henceforth
he would like to pursue a peaceful campaign and dialogue for a revolution
in Pakistan that he talks vaguely and repeatedly.
Dr. Qadri did not mention about the
rumors and circulating gossip about his backdoor compromise or settlement with
the PMLN government. But it can be speculated that now when he has called
off his anti- government tirade and campaign, it might become pretty
difficult for him to relaunch that with the previous vigor and tempo. He may
not even resume it at all.
So that begs a question that what could
be the political future of Dr. Tahirul Qadri in Pakistan. My answer is none or
feeble. On the contrary Imran Khan who is still holding out the ground
might stay in the battlefield for some time.
It looks that with the time
passage his agitation too is losing the steam. For him to spur or sustain indefinitely
a countrywide agitation or earthshaking movement for the removal the government
or force midterm elections seems to be remote possibility.
The best and more pragmatic escape
route for him is to wait for the next elections and then pull his strings and
mobilize the countrymen and his party workers to win elections, assume power
and accomplish what he aims to do for Pakistan and its people. As for Dr. Qadri, there is no possibility as he has abandoned his citadel, dispersed his crowds
and thus dissipated his momentum for no plausible reasons or motives.
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