April 9, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 10, 1427

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PESHAWAR, April 8: The Pakistan People’s Party has reiterated its stand that it will never strike a deal with the military rulers at the cost of its political programme, based on strengthening democracy in the country. Speaking at a gathering at the Peshawar Press Club to welcome Farid Khan Toofan, a former Awami National Party leader from Karak, in the folds of the PPP here on Saturday, provincial president of PPP Rahimdad Khan said his party would go to the masses instead of making a deal with Gen Pervez Musharraf and his colleagues.

The incumbent rulers had used every method of coercion and blackmailing to get political support of the PPP, but they had failed to break the leadership of the party, he added.

Mr Khan said the military regime had constituted a number of bogus cases against PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto to force her to stay outside Pakistan, but they had failed to root out her following in the masses. Similarly, he said the fake cases registered against her spouse, Asif Ali Zardari, were aimed at blackmailing the PPP to accept the unconstitutional and undemocratic rule of Gen Musharraf.

He said we welcome Mr Toofan, whose political struggle for provincial autonomy and parliamentary democracy was self- evident, and we hope that he would continue this struggle from the PPP platform. He said: “We do not want to make a dent in any party. We want to benefit out of the political experiences of Mr Toofan”.

PPP provincial senior vice-president Syed Qamar Abbas, provincial secretary Najmuddin Khan, a former PPP provincial chief Barrister Masood Kausar and a large number of PPP leaders and workers were present on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Toofan said he was feeling relaxed after joining the PPP as he had not made dissociation with the ANP, instead he had been expelled from the party.

He said he had two options either to join the gang of opportunist, factotums of dictators and time-servers or to join hands with genuine democratic forces struggling for the rights of people and restoration of democracy in the country.

“So, I opted for the second path. I have not changed my principles, but I am struggling from a new platform”, he added.

The PPP, he said, had had a history of valiant struggle against the military dictators and was the main reason which prompted him to join the PPP.

Mr Toofan said: “I am not a feudal. I am from a poor family. I think the PPP gives respect to the people like me. I assure every worker and leader of the PPP that I will march along them in the struggle for restoration of democracy and rights of people”.