December 15, 2005	Thursday	Ziqa’ad 12, 1426

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: The Pakistan People’s Party says that the Swiss case against Benazir Bhutto is a matter of life and death for the government in its campaign to politically eliminate the PPP chairperson.

In a statement here on Wednesday, a party spokesman criticized the federal information minister for stating that the Swiss case was a matter of life and death for the PPP.

“Ms Bhutto’s position is safe in the hands and hearts of the people of Pakistan who know that she is being victimized for courageously standing up for the democratic rights of the people,” the spokesman said.

He said the amount of time and money spent on hiring a battery of lawyers, changing NAB laws and mounting a propaganda campaign showed the extent of terror struck into the regime by her brave defence of federalism, freedom, human rights and emancipation of the people from poverty and exploitation.

He said it was the same case in which the Supreme Court had not only set aside the conviction awarded by the trial court but also observed “the bias of the trial judge floated on the surface of record”, forcing most unceremonious exit of two judges from the bench.

Meanwhile, the PPP has sent a letter to the Commonwealth alleging that the government was trying to gag the press and pressure journalists to give up their profession.

In the letter addressed to the Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, central coordinator of the party’s human rights desk, MNA Fauzia Wahab, said a Fata-based reporter Hayatullah Khan was kidnapped by masked men on December 5. “Mr Khan was not in the good books of the regime which has a history of violating press freedom through intimidation and use of physical force.”

She said the journalist was under pressure by the military regime to abandon his profession and be compensated with a government job. Two other reporters who were vociferously pursuing their responsibilities in Waziristan were earlier stopped from investigative journalism, she added.

Ms Wahab said the lack of interest in recovering the journalist led the finger of suspicion to fall on the regime.

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