24 April 2004	Saturday	03 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

ISLAMABAD, April 23: The People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) will set up camps in Rawalpindi on Saturday to protest against the price-hike, unemployment and poor law and order situation in the country.

This was announced by the PPP information secretary, Punjab, Mohammad Naveed Chaudhry, while briefing newsmen about the decisions taken at a meeting of party's Punjab Executive Council here on Friday.

PPP secretary-general Raja Pervez Ashraf and PPP Punjab president Qasim Zia were also present in the briefing. The PPP information secretary said similar protest camps would be set up all over the Punjab on May 8. He said main leaders of the party would attend the camps, which would open at 11am and close at 3pm.

He said the meeting had also decided to observe May Day in a befitting manner. In this connection, he said, a labour day rally would be held from Lahore railway station to the Punjab Assembly building on May 1. A similar rally, he said, would also be held in Islamabad from China Chowk to the Parliament House.

Mr Naveed said it was also decided that the party would celebrate the 51st birth anniversary of Benazir Bhutto throughout the province. He said worker conventions would be held to mark the event in different cities of the Punjab.

With reference to Gen Musharraf's speech in which he admitted that corrupt people had joined the government, the PPP leader said this was actually an admission to the viewpoint of the opposition. "After this confession by Gen Musharraf himself, this government has no right to stay in power", he added.

He also demanded registration of a treason case under Article 6 against those members of the Patriots, who had been asking Gen Musharraf not to remove his uniform. "On one hand, Javed Hashmi has been jailed for 23 years only for reading out an anonymous letter, while on the other hand, coalition partners are openly committing treason but no action is being taken against them," he regretted.

The PPP Punjab, he said, condemned the "character assassination campaign" launched by the government against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari through official media. He asked the government to stop this campaign immediately or be ready to "face the wrath of the PPP workers and activists."

He also condemned the government for trying to send Mr Zardari to Switzerland by force. He said the party demanded fresh polls in the country under the supervision of human rights bodies so that people could get a chance to elect their true representatives.