June 11, 2003	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 10, 1424

KARACHI, June 10: Activists of Pakistan People’s Party staged a token hunger strike outside the press club here on Tuesday to protest against Legal Framework Order, rising cost of utilities and the government policy of implicating Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Zardari in baseless cases.

More than 1,000 party leaders and activists, including MNAs, MPAs and office-bearers of district and city chapters, converged on the KPC and remained there throughout the day to register their rejection of government policies, rampant load-shedding, construction of the greater Thal canal, etc.

They expressed their concern over the deteriorating law and order situation and declared that a uniformed president was not acceptable to the people.

They also alleged that Gen Pervez Musharraf was deliberately pursuing anti-democracy policies, though publicly he was maintaining a facade of democratic dispensation.

Provincial chief of the party and Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly, Nisar Khuhro, while addressing the protesters said that LFO was a serious threat to federation and provincial autonomy. He said that the PPP would not allow anyone to barter away rights of the people of Sindh.

Flanked by PPP’s city chief Muzaffar Shujra and general secretary Habibuddin Junedi, Mr Khuhro declared that his party would now take its struggle for democracy and rights of the people to every nook and corner of the country.

Mr Khuhro alleged that conspiracies were being hatched to keep civilian leadership under military control. Expressing concern over the prevailing political situation, he accused the government of sabotaging the process of negotiations on the LFO and other issues.

He was of the view that LFO was aimed at perpetuating one-man rule by winding up the parliamentary system of government and that it would usurp basic human rights as well as social and democratic rights.

He also rejected the IRO-2002, which is part of the LFO, as anti-worker and reflective of the government’s real motives.

Taking exception to the regime’s measures to gag the voice of dissent, he deplored the strong-arms tactics used in Punjab against opposition members of the provincial assembly. He warned the government of grave consequences if it was repeated elsewhere.

Mr Khuhro also expressed concern over deteriorating law and order situation, dacoities, kidnapping and murders.

The protesters demanded that Benazir Bhutto be allowed to return home and Asif Zardari and Younus Khan released immediately along with those facing baseless charges.

Deploring rampant loadshedding and rising cost of utilities, they demanded a reduction in tariff and called for action against those who harassed the people through inflated and wrong billing. The protesters also deplored shortage of water in the city and the interior of Sindh and termed it a conspiracy against the people of the province.

Mr Khuhro criticized the regime for being indifferent to the aspirations of the people of Sindh. The aspirations, he said, were reflected in the unanimously adopted resolutions of the provincial assembly, through which the greater Thal canal project was rejected.

He said that the government was not tolerant of opposition and was trying to prolong its rule, which was imposed on the people by removing the elected government on Oct 12, 1999.