Tahirul Qadri returns to Pakistan, announces protest against Model Town inquiry

LAHORE: Prominent cleric and head of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) Tahirul Qadri on Wednesday announced a "grand protest" against what he called the failure of authorities to deliver justice in the Model Town firing incident in which 14 people were killed and over 100 others injured. Dr Qadri, who spoke to media representatives at Lahore airport upon his arrival from Canada after eight months, said the "protest cum sit-in" will be organised on Lahore's Mall Road on June 17. "This is a protest as well as a sit-in... I will announce the details on June 17 at Mall Road," he said, amid a rousing welcome from supporters who showered him with rose petals. "Two years have passed [since the killings]. No other example of this worst form of state terrorism can be found in Pakistan's history," he said.