Imran Khan will not share stage with Zadari, says PTI spokesman

ISLAMABAD: As several political parties start a protest movement on Wednesday against the Model Town incident, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan will not be sharing the stage with Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

Addressing a press conference, PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said several political parties will come out in support of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahir-ul-Qadri for justice in the brazen Model Town incident in which innocent civilians were openly fired upon.

However, he warned that this should not seen as electoral alliance, and apart from justice in the incident, political and ideological differences remain between the PTI and the PPP.

“Under no circumstances is a political alliance between the PTI and PPP possible,” he said. “This can create misconceptions that we are in a electoral alliance with them.”

Therefore, he said that they have floated the idea and requested the PAT to hold the protest in two separate sessions, one with the PPP and another with the PTI. “In one session Imran Khan will be on the stage, and in another session will be Asif Zardari,” he clarified.

He said that PAT has announced a one-dayprotest which does not include a rally but rather a political gathering where their demands will be laid out, and if not accepted then the scope of the protest will be widened and will end with the resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The spokesman said that Speaker National Assembly hails from Kasur which has witnessed twelve cases of sexual assault on minor children. People protested against the barbaric incident but were fired upon by police, which implies that no lessons have been learned from the Model Town incident.

He said whether it is the Kasur or the Model Town incident, the Punjab government has failed miserably, and police encounters have become a norm in the province.

It may be mentioned that PAT will lauch a protest movement in Lahore for justice in the 2014 Model Town incident in which twelve people were killed and over a hundred were injured. The PPP and PTI have expressed their support for the protest movement.