April 7, 2006	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 8, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, April 6: The military regime is pressurising the jailed former speaker Yousaf Raza Gillani to switch his loyalties in exchange for dropping all charges against him, alleged the People’s Party Parliamentarians secretary-general Raja Pervez Ashraf while speaking at a press conference here on Thursday.

“This is one of the examples of harassment of our workers and conspiracies against the party,” he said. He said that while the military government was boasting nationally and internationally of holding fair and transparent elections, on the other it had launched a character-assassination campaign of PPP and its workers,” he said.

“The regime is harassing and pressurising the PPP workers to switch their loyalties. Whenever party makes preparations to receive Benazir Bhutto, the regime launches a character- assassination campaign, said the PPP secretary-general.

“The party admires Yousaf Raza Gillani’s commitment to the party. Seven times the bench refused to hear his case and today again the bench refused to hear the case at the last minute. He is paying a heavy price for providing jobs to the needy,” Mr Ashraf told the media persons.

Criticizing the role of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Mr Ashraf said that the NAB was yet to prove it as a transparent organization. “There is no across the board accountability instead the bureau is being used to harass political parties and split them.”

He accused General Musharraf of squandering the national wealth. “A general is addressing public rallies and asking the people to vote against the PPP. His audience is mostly paid people to show to the world that a huge gathering was listening to him. They are paid Rs200 per head out of the tax-payers money,” the PPP leader further alleged.