12 April 2005	Tuesday	02 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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JHANG, April 11: Several PPP factions, who were at variance with each other for the last one and-a-half years, have mended their fences at the last moment to welcome their leader Asif Ali Zardari on April 16. They have decided to take a united caravan of buses and wagons to Lahore under the leadership of PPP District President Qazi Ali Hassan. The person instrumental in bringing the opponents on a platform has been party’s Faisalabad divisional coordinator Raja Riaz Ahmad, who during the last one month shuttled between Jhang, Chiniot and Faisalabad to arrange meetings between the aggrieved party leaders, and succeeded in persuading them to shed their differences for a bigger cause.

Mr Riaz has been amply supported by PPP federal council secretary-general Khalid Kharal, former district president Babar Zaheer Cheema and Punjab secretary-general Rana Aftab Ahmad all of whom visited Jhang the other day to attend a workers’ convention.

There had been serious differences between the PPP district president and some incumbent and former party office-bearers over organizational changes he had made with the alleged connivance of the provincial leaders to silence the ‘dissenting voices.’

He first changed the entire city organization, led by former ticket-holder Jamil Ansari. He replaced Mr Ansari with People’s Youth Organization leader Iqbal Anjum. But when Mr Iqbal also started criticizing the district president for his alleged lack of interest in the party affairs, he, too, was thrown out.

Besides, the president also changed some office-bearers in his home tehsil Chiniot “according to his liking.” All these decisions did not have the backing of an overwhelming majority of the party workers as a result of which the party was divided in groups.

Initially, the party high command paid little attention to the matter, but with the announcement of Mr Zardari’s arrival they felt the need to diffuse tension. The reconciliation mission was assigned to Raja Riaz Ahmad, who arranged meetings and managed to unite the PPP workers.

The aggrieved office-bearers not only attended the April 7 meeting, but also assured Mr Kharal and Rana Aftab of their participation in Zardari’s welcome.