11 October 2004	Monday	25 Shaban 1425

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HYDERABAD, Oct 10: Sindh People's Party Parliamentarians president Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said talks cannot be held with the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal only on the issue of the president's uniform but his party was for holding talks with the MMA for repealing the 17th constitutional amendment.

He said not only President Gen Pervez Musharraf but the MMA was also responsible for introducing the 17th amendment and now it was trying to take refuge behind the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy on the issue of uniform.

Mr Shah was speaking at a seminar on "Pakistan without the PPP", organized by the Sindh People's Students Federation at the press club here on Saturday night. Rejecting controlled democracy, he said the PPP was not only struggling on the issue of uniform but it was also striving for restoration of true democracy and the supremacy of parliament.

Recalling achievements of party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto with regards to the unanimous approval of the 1973 Constitution, Shimla Agreement, his battle against dictatorship and creating awareness among the masses, he said Mr Bhutto had made Pakistan impregnable.

He claimed that due to fear of the leadership of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and the masses, Gen Musharraf could not run affairs of the country without uniform. He said when objectives of foreign powers were achieved, they would abandon the president.

The PPP leader said Ms Bhutto would return to the country soon and with the power of the masses, she would throw out the dictators. He said when the time came, his party would launch a movement against what he called the authoritarian government and bring the people on the roads.

He categorically denied that his party had struck a deal with the government and added that there was no truth in speculations that Asif Ali Zardari was being sent abroad under some deal.

Mr Shah said such rumours were being circulated by the rulers to create confusion in minds of people and defuse their anger. Prof N. D. Khan said Pakistan and a president in uniform could not go together.

Referring to achievements of the PPP, he said it had eliminated the establishment culture and restored a people's democracy in the country. He claimed that the PPP alone could keep the federation intact and added that it would not enter into a deal with the dictators.

Syed Shah Mohammad Shah said history was witness to the fact that all prime ministers were, and are, insulted and humiliated by the establishment. Maula Bux Chandio in his speech paid tribute to the services of the late Z. A. Bhutto in the cause of the downtrodden masses and the country.

Abdul Sattar Bachani, MPA Zahid Ali Bhurgari, Amir Ali Eeri, Dr Arshad Mughal, Zulfiqar Baloch, Waseem Memon and others also spoke on the occasion. They claimed that Pakistan could not function without the PPP and warned that if any attempt was made to eliminate it, the very existence of the country would be endangered and Sindh would be divided into pieces.

Meanwhile, a tragic incident occurred when the PPP procession reached the Wadhu Wah. PPP activists Usman Memon and Jani, who were riding on a motorcycle, fell down while trying to avoid collision with a truck on the bank of the Wadhu Wah. A metallic object of the motorcycle pierced into the chest of Usman and he died on the way to a hospital. Jani was critically injured. He was admitted to the Liaquat University Hospital.