10 July 2004	Saturday	21 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

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ISLAMABAD, July 9: The People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has vowed to defeat Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz in the by-election in Attock despite the use of state funds and machinery by the government during his election campaign.

Speaking at a news conference here on Friday, PPP secretary general Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, former MPA Malik Hakmeen Khan and PPP women wing president Nargis Faiz Malik accused the government of providing full protocol of the prime minister to Mr Aziz even before the by-election.

Mr Ashraf, who is also a candidate for the by-poll, said that they had to face great difficulties even in reaching the returning officer's office on Friday due to the strict security measures and road blockade in Attock during scrutiny of the nomination papers.

He, however, expressed the hope that the party activists and workers would remind the people of Attock the 1970 elections in which the PPP swept the polls throughout the country.

The PPP leaders said the government employees were being forced to take part in the election campaign of Mr Aziz. They also criticized the use of official media in the election campaign.

"The PTV has been assigned the task to run Shaukat Aziz's election campaign," they added. They said despite all these conditions, the PPP would give a tough fight to Mr Aziz.