09 May 2004	Sunday	18 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, May 8: The Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians on Saturday urged the election commission to provide police guards to its candidates contesting by-elections.

The demand has been made in a letter written by the opposition leader in the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Khuhro, to the provincial election commissioner and IGP Sindh.The PPP's parliamentary party leader in the Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani, said the government was deliberately allowing the law and order situation to aggravate to implements its agenda of perpetuating power.

He said that the blast in Sindh Madressah mosque was deplorable and reflected the governments' failure.

Mr Rabbani was of the view that such incidents were the outcome of the governments domestic and foreign policies.