KARACHI, May 25: The Pakistan People’s Party on Wednesday asked its old guards and estranged cadre to return to the party fold at this critical juncture of its struggle against dictatorship, and for the restoration of constitution and supremacy of parliament. It, however, made it clear that the ‘Patriots’ or those, who had betrayed the party leadership, would be unacceptable.
Nafees Siddiqui, Secretary General of the party’s Sindh chapter, said this while welcoming new entrants, mostly youth, from Liaquatabad Town to the party fold.
He said the country was passing through political and economic crisis and to extricate it from the situation, it was imperative that real political leadership, including Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif, and those put behind the bars, be freed. He said general elections should be held this year under a free and independent election commission.
He said that elections can only be free, fair and transparent if these conditions were met, making it clear that if the regime tried to impose its will on the nation, the PPP would force the rulers to respect the peoples’ aspirations.
Mr Siddiqui also slammed the government for creating new districts, which he said was politically motivated, and hence pre-poll rigging of the worst kind.
Speaking about the unseating of elected nazims of bifurcated districts, he referred to the chief election commissioner’s remarks that there was no provision in the local government laws to unseat a nazim and appoint administrators in their place.
Mr Siddiqui claimed that cracks had emerged in the ruling PML-Q because of politics of deceit; therefore, general elections this year had become a necessity.
The PPP Sindh’s secretary general strongly condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran at Guantánamo Bay and said his party would participate in the May 27 worldwide protest.
Mr Siddiqui also criticised the government’s economic policies, and said that despite tall claims of bringing down the inflation rate, it was well over 11 per cent. Unemployment had massively increased and a large number of people were forced to commit suicide.
He slammed the regime for denying smaller provinces their rights, saying the NFC award was just one such example. He also criticised victimization of the PPP cadre in Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad.
