31 October 2004	Sunday	16 Ramazan 1425

KARACHI, Oct 30: The PPP parliamentary party in the Sindh Assembly has appointed two deputy opposition leaders and a chief whip, besides constituting a legislative committee, to deal with the government in the coming months.

This was disclosed by Nisar Khuhro, opposition leader in the assembly, at an Iftar party at the residence of Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday.

He named Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman and Syed Murad Ali Shah as the deputy leaders and Jam Mehtab Dahar as the chief whip.

In order to make the party more effective, divisional whips have also been appointed. They are Shama Arif Mitahni (Karachi), Ali Nawaz Shah (Hyderabad), Ghulam Qadir Chandio (Sukkur), Ayaz Soomro (Larkana), and Dr Zulfikar Talpur (Mirpurkhas).

The party's legislative committee would be headed by Dr Sikandar Mahendro and would include Murad Ali Shah, Nuzhat Pathan, Mujadad Asran, Makhdoom Jameel, Dr Nasrullah Baloch, Shazia Mari and Irfan Shah as members.

Mr Khuhro said the set up had the approval of party chairperson Ms Benazir Bhutto and was aimed at catering to the requirements of effectively meeting the future challenges arising out of the regime's anti-people policies.

Criticizing Gen Musharraf for insisting on keeping offices of the COAS and Presidency simultaneously, Mr Khuhro said that the general was acting contrary to the guiding principles and vision the Quaid-i-Azam.

He also expressed concern over Gen Musharraf's recent proposals on Kashmir, and said that neither Kashmiris nor the parliament of Pakistan had been taken into confidence on this sensitive issue.

He feared that the move was aimed, perhaps, to please distant protectors of the rulers, and warned that it was very dangerous for the country's integrity.

LB POLLS: The PPP Karachi chapter, has taken exception to the government plan to appoint administrators in place of elected nazims before the next local body elections and termed it a part of victimization.

This was stated by PPP Karachi chapter president Rashid Rabbani, and general-secretary Rafiq Engineer on Saturday. In a joint statement, they expressed surprise over "criminal" silence over deteriorating law and order situation, decaying water and power system and other civic problems.

They called upon the election commission to ensure that the government was prevented from indulging in foul play.