PESHAWAR, Dec 22: The Pakistan People's Party has asked the government to facilitate early return of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and withdraw all cases registered against Asif Ali Zardari.

Speaking at a protest rally taken out by the PPP from the Chowk Yadgar to Shaheedan in Qissakhwani Bazaar on Wednesday, PPP leader Syed Qamar Abbas criticized the authorities which, according to him, were out to destabilize the party by sidelining its leadership.

He alleged that the government had robbed the judiciary of its independence and running the affairs of the state by using brute force. The PPP, he said, believed in negotiations to sort out political issues and was opposed to pressure tactics adopted by the rulers.

Mr Zardari had refused to beg his release from the rulers during his detention, it was the superior judiciary that had granted him bail in a fake case, he added.Mr Abbas said that Mr Zardari had become a symbol of courage in the political history of the country.

The present military rulers and people running the show in Islamabad were frightened of the political image of Mr Zardari, he added. PPP provincial secretary-general Najmuddin Khan said the PPP would resist the undemocratic steps taken by the rulers and mobilize the masses against the dictatorial rule. He warned the rulers to desist from crushing PPP workers and leaders.

Syed Ayub Shah criticized the Punjab police for stopping PPP motorcade at the Attock bridge on Tuesday and manhandling party workers. He said a motorcade led by former MNA Sardar Ali Khan had left Peshawar for Islamabad to receive Mr Zardari at the airport, but the police stopped the motorcade from crossing the bridge.

He said that on the one hand the government claimed that there was no ban on political activities, but on the other it had not allowed a peaceful procession to enter Punjab. Earlier, PPP workers carrying placards carrying portraits of Asif Ali Zardari and Ms Bhutto marched on various streets from Chowk Yadgar to Qissakhwani Bazar.