PAKISTAN: Pakistani Sufi cleric says his party will not contest upcoming elections

Record ID: 213926

  • Title: PAKISTAN: Pakistani Sufi cleric says his party will not contest upcoming elections
  • Date: 17th March 2013
  • Summary: RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN (MARCH 17, 2013) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) CROWD AT PUBLIC MEETING BANNER BEARING PICTURE OF CLERIC MUHAMMAD TAHIRUL QADRI READS 'CHANGE' QADRI WAVING TO SUPPORTERS FROM BEHIND A BULLET PROOF SCREEN VEILED WOMEN AND GIRLS LISTENING TO MUSIC CROWD WAVING PARTY FLAGS AND NATIONAL FLAGS OF PAKISTAN (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) ISLAMIC CLERIC, MUHAMMAD TAHIRUL QADRI, SAYING: "We don't want to become part of this whole drama. We don't want tax thieves to become members of parliament, and those who have swallowed the loans becoming members of parliament. Because the electoral reforms and changes that were promised by the government and election commission were not implemented, we will stand with our ideology and protest peacefully." CROWD CHEERING (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) ISLAMIC CLERIC, MUHAMMAD TAHIRUL QADRI, SAYING: "On the election day, tens of thousands of people will stage peaceful sit-in demonstrations against this corrupt system. There will be a sit-in at every city." SUPPORTERS WAVING PAKISTANI AND PARTY FLAGS WHILE CHANTING
  • Embargoed: 1st April 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Pakistan
  • Country: Pakistan
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEZVGT7I3ERL0F9MYBIWNWYYKX
  • Story Text: A cleric who has been pushing for electoral reforms in Pakistan said on Sunday (March 17) that his political party, Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), would boycott the forthcoming general elections in the country.
    Muhammad Tahirul Qadri, who has a history of ties with the military, reached a deal with Pakistan's ruling coalition in January that will give his party some say over the formation of a caretaker government ahead of elections this spring.
    Some people expected Qadri's party might also participate in the elections.
    But during a public address in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, days after his return from Canada, Qadri said the current political system is corrupt and his party would not be joining it.
    The cleric said electoral reforms that were promised to him in January by the then government after his long march to Islamabad have not been implemented.

    "We don't want to become part of this whole drama. We don't want tax thieves to become members of parliament, and those who have swallowed the loans becoming members of parliament. Because the electoral reforms and changes that were promised by the government and election commission were not implemented, we will stand with our ideology and protest peacefully," Qadri told a crowd of thousands of supporters from behind a bullet proof screen.
    Pakistan's elected government completed its full five-year term on Saturday (March 16), the first in the country's turbulent history to do so, leaving a legacy of Taliban violence, sectarian unrest, chronic power cuts and a fragile economy.
    Parliament was dissolved at midnight after completing its term, and a caretaker administration will manage the government until general elections which must take place within 90 days.
    Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was expected to remain in office until the appointment of a caretaker prime minister, a process expected to take a few days.

    "On the election day, tens of thousands of people will stage peaceful sit-in demonstrations against this corrupt system. There will be a sit-in at every city," said Qadri.
    The cleric's reappearance on Pakistan's political stage after years of living in Canada, and his calls for the military to play a role in forming an interim administration, had raised speculation he may be backed by the country's powerful army. Qadri and the military deny this.
    Qadri supported a 1999 military coup, and praised the military during speeches in January, appealing to thousands of supporters and members of the middle and lower class who have grown tired of Pakistan's dynastic politics.
    ENDS
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