09 March 2005	Wednesday	27 Muharram 1426

HYDERABAD, March 8: Provincial president of the People's Party Parliamentarians Syed Qaim Ali Shah has alleged that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is least bothered about poverty, lawlessness, price hike and hunger in the country.

This could be gauged from the fact that the prime minister was sitting in Karachi to settle a dispute over corruption between sacked provincial minister Imtiaz Sheikh and Sindh Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim, Mr Shah said.

He was speaking to journalists at a tea party hosted by local PPP leader Aftab Khanzada at a local hotel here on Tuesday. He said that a minister had declared that Benazir Bhutto would not return even after 2,007 and added that President Gen Pervez Musharraf had also spoken in the same tone. But now the government had taken an initiative to hold dialogue with the PPP, he added.

He said that his party would continue struggle for restoration of the constitution in its original shape because the country's survival depended on it. He further said that the constitution had been mutilated over the years and now rifts were being created between provinces as a result smaller parties were strongly advocating provincial autonomy.

He said that the PPP would hold talks with the government in the larger interest of the country and not for any political gains. He further said that the PPP had taken component parties of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy into confidence in connection with its talks with the government.

"The Pakistan Muslim League's central and provincial governments are artificial because our party secured maximum votes in the general elections but it has been kept out of power and it has led to the present poor state of affairs", Mr Shah said.

He dispelled the impression that the PPP was striving for power and said that the party's struggle was aimed at restoration of real democracy and original constitution that existed before October 1999. This could only be ensured through elections in 2,005, he added.

He said that people's problems could not be solved unless there was a genuine democracy. He said that only people would decide about return of Ms Bhutto. He said that the PPP's talks with the government would be general in nature and would not focus on a change in Sindh government alone because such offer had been made earlier.

He said that Asif Ali Zardari had major contribution in party's struggle but Ms Bhutto remained its chairperson. He further said that there was no harm if Mr Zardari became a bridge between the establishment and democratic forces.

PPP general secretary Nafees Siddiqui pointed out that the countries which did not have democracy faced poor economic conditions. He said that over past five years, poverty ratio had increased from 30 to 47 per cent and it may shoot up to 60 per cent if the present situation persisted.

He asserted that middle class had been eliminated, which had always played a pivotal role for democracy. He claimed that the Gwadar port had been conceived by a PPP government and people of Balochistan were not against it but they were demanding a due share in the project.