Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has demanded an inquiry into the Model Town tragedy that claimed 14 lives on June 17, 2014.
Talking to the media leaders of the Pakistan Awami Party (PAT), the PPP chairman said that an impartial investigation should be carried out into the incident and punish those responsible.
Bilawal said that PPP envisages Pakistan as a modern state. “To achieve this, we will take steps to make the lives of the public easier.”
The PPP chairman met with PAT leaders at Minhaj-ul-Quran International’s Secretariat in Lahore on Friday. The two parties later held a joint press conference.
Bilawal said that if ‘Mian saab’ becomes the prime minister of Pakistan, he will harm the country by exacting revenges of the past. “We will have no further collaboration or association with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). It will be a source of embarrassment for the Pakistan People’s Party,” he added.
Bilawal said that politics in the past was defined by personal grudges and revenge. The PPP chairman stressed that his party will end the politics of hatred and division.
The Model Town tragedy occurred when Punjab police opened fire on unarmed PAT workers on June 17, 2014 during the rule of the PML-N.
Fourteen people were killed in the clash that lasted almost eleven hours. The Punjab police’s anti-encroachment squad was ordered to remove barriers outside the offices and house of PAT founder, Tahir-ul-Qadri.
A few people were arrested in the aftermath of the tragedy, including Gullu Butt, a notorious character. However, no proper investigation or trial into the incident has been conducted to date.
