24 July 2004	Saturday	06 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425

KARACHI, July 23: Secretary General of the Pakistan People's Party Mr Jehangir Badar claimed on Friday that his party was main target of the regime's state terrorism because the PPP was striving for a socio-economic change for the benefit of common man.

He observed that people were, at present, facing unemployment, price hike, insecurity and mounting (state) terrorism. Mr Badar was talking to newsmen informally at the residence of PPP coordinator Nafees Siddiqui. Provincial representatives of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) were also present.

"We are working on a new agenda to meet realities of the 21st century and will throw up new generation cadre for confronting oppressive forces," said Mr Badar without giving details of the 'new agenda'.

Replying to a question about putting the PPP's own house in order and the role of the various committees formed by the party for the purpose, Mr Badar said that efforts were being made to identify the core issues concerning people of Pakistan and evolving a consensus, first within the party and then with other political forces within the stipulated time of 30 days.

When asked that why could not the PPP, with the motto: Roti, Kapra Aur Makan and claiming to be the party of masses, mobilize people on the core issues of unemployment, price hike, insecurity, etc., Mr Badar said: "Being a political party, we have to continue our struggle and it is up to the masses to respond. Moreover, the change does not come overnight... it takes long years of struggle."

The PPP leader said that there was a very clear line drawn between those patriotic political forces, including the PPP, which believed in supremacy of Constitution, law and democratic dispensation, and the other forces which were the lynch pin of powers of status quo.

He said that at a time when it was even difficult to survive against tyrannical rule, the PPP along with other democratic forces was in the forefront of the struggle for the rights of the people and supremacy of Constitution.

He said it was wrong to say that during the last four years, the PPP had been out of the struggle for the restoration of democracy. The party, he maintained, was the main target of present government for offering tough resistance.

Mr Badar was critical of the government for 'manipulating' judicial system to its advantage and said: "Where people don't get justice, society crumbles." When asked whether PPP chairperson Ms Benazir Bhutto would be in Pakistan to launch a struggle under the new agenda, he replied that she was already leading the struggle sitting abroad.

In reply to a question about the possibility of the PPP entering into any cooperative alliance with the MMA, Mr Badar said that political decisions were taken at an appropriate time. He made it clear that the PPP would not take any decision without consulting the ARD with which it had been continuing its struggle for democracy.

Mr Badar criticized the government for police action, including baton-charging, shelling and arrests, on Thursday against the PPP activists who wanted to take out a procession to observe chehlum of Munawwar Suhrawardy. He also called for mitigate sufferings of the residents of besieged Jehanabad locality where an operation clean-up was under way for many days.

Other PPP leaders, Kamal Azfar, Agha Siraj Durrani, Muzaffar Shujra, Mohammad Bux Lashari, Iftikhar Qazi, Habib Junaidi, Rashid Rabbani, Saeed Ghani, besides PML-N leader Zain Ansari and some ARD leaders, were also present on the occasion.