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LAHORE, Sept 14: Benazir Bhutto, who has been ousted from the electoral process for being a convict, has directed her party to take an active part in the elections to ensure the restoration of democracy, party’s senior vice-chairman Makhdoom Amin Faheem said here on Saturday.
Answering newsmen’s questions after a meeting with ARD president Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, he said: “Our target is to reach parliament and have democracy restored.”
He was asked whether the PPP’s participation in the electoral process should mean that it was ready to work with Gen Musharraf, whom the party did not recognize as a legitimate president.
The Makhdoom, who runs the party in the absence of Ms Bhutto, said his party would endeavour to get as many seats in parliament as possible. As for the fresh election of the president, he said, it was for the new parliament to decide.
When he was reminded that the ARD, of which the PPP is a component, was committed to elect a new president in accordance with the provisions of the 1973 Constitution as Gen Musharraf was not qualified to occupy the slot, he said: “The final decision on the subject would be taken by the ARD.”
Mr Faheem said the rejection of Ms Bhutto’s nomination papers was not a matter of surprise for the party as long ago it had assessed the designs of the military regime about the twice elected former prime minister. However, the party would exhaust every legal opportunity to have the court verdict overturned.
He told a questioner that Ms Bhutto would continue to play her role and at no stage would she disappoint her supporters. She would continue to struggle for the rights of the masses, no matter where she might be.
He assured that the party would not work against the federation no matter what the regime had done to its chairperson.
He recalled that Ms Bhutto had worked for the unity of the federation despite the fact that her father had been hanged, both of her brothers murdered and her mother was critically ill.
The PPP leader said his party wanted a grand national conciliation.
The Makhdoom reiterated the allegation that the regime was patronizing the candidates of a particular party.
CANCELED: The PPP on Saturday cancelled a public meeting at the Minar-i-Pakistan with which it had planned to launch its election campaign on Sunday.
Provincial president Qasim Zia said at a news conference that due to rains it was not possible to make arrangements for the meeting.
Now the election campaign would be launched with a meeting at Multan on Monday.
Altaf Qureshi, Qasim Zia, Naveed Chaudhry and other office-bearers were also present on the occasion.
Qasim Zia said his party was not thinking of boycotting the elections.
He said wherever possible, the PPP had made adjustments with the PML-N and it was the result of those adjustments that the latter had not put up its candidates against two candidates of the former in National Assembly constituencies in Lahore.
