|
|
|
| April 23, 2002 | Tuesday | Safar 9, 1423 |
PPP to hold anti-referendum conventions
FAISALABAD, April 22: The Pakistan People’s Party will hold workers’ conventions and rallies in all the big cities of the province before April 30 to motivate people not to cast vote in favour of referendum.
This was stated by Punjab PPP secretary-general Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan and divisional coordinator Raja Riaz Ahmad while talking to newsmen here on Monday.
They said the first convention would be held in Faisalabad on Tuesday. Punjab PPP president Qasim Zia and other central leaders, including Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi, would address the convention to be held at the residence of Raja Riaz Ahmad.
PPP leaders said government-backed political and religious parties had been allowed to hold political gatherings but ‘genuine’ leaders of the country were being sent behind the bars for raising voice against ill-conceived policies of the military regime.
They demanded the government should withdraw the decision of holding the presidential referendum and announce the schedule for the general elections.
Meanwhile, former PML-N MPAs — Rana Sanaullah Khan and Rana Muhammad Afzal — said the public meeting to be held in Lahore on April 27 would change the political scenario of the country.
In a statement, they said PML-N leaders and workers were ready to go to jails instead of appreciating policies of the rulers.
They said the Central Executive Committee of the party would finalize the decision about return of Nawaz Sharif and his family.
They alleged that the government had failed to resolve the people’s problems. Efforts were being made by the government to victimize political and religious leaders which could be dangerous for the supremacy of the country, they said.
They demanded the government to release all the political and religious workers and leaders.
SMALL LOANS: A micro-credit scheme for providing soft term loans to ex-servicemen would be launched soon to enable them to earn an honourable living, Brig Muhammad Akram (retired), the Punjab Armed Services Board director, told a gathering of ex-servicemen in the Zila Council Hall here on Monday.
He said the government appreciated the services