KARACHI, Dec 21: The leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party have termed the prime minister’s relief package on essential items a joke with the people and accused the government of marginalising the smaller provinces.

Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Mian Raza Rabbani on Thursday claimed that the PM’s relief package would only benefit a small section and a vast majority would still be deprived of basic facilities.

He said that in view of limited number of utility stores in the country, which were mainly urban- based, the whole thing was a cruel joke to hoodwink the masses at Eid and the forthcoming elections.

President PPP Sindh chapter Syed Qaim Ali Shah said the province has been politically, economically and administratively destabilised. He said after the 2002 general election, the PPP emerged as one of the biggest parties in the province but a minority party had been foisted on the province by sidelining the majority party.

Reacting to the governor's briefing to editors, Mr Shah and Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Khuhro, said Sindh was in the grip of lawlessness due to the inefficiency of theprovincial government.

Incidents of terrorism and street crimes in Karachi and armed robberies in broad daylight and kidnapping for ransom in the interior of Sindh had become routine matters.

The situation had become so alarming that three MQM activists, a party that was in the coalition government were released after paying ransom, they added. The PPP leaders lamented that when the party that was in government was forced to pay ransom to secure the freedom of its members, spoke volumes about the law and order situation. Insisting that street crime had increased manifold, they said on average scores of vehicles and cell phones were snatched at gunpoint in Karachi daily. They added many such crimes went unreported.

Condemning the allegation of extortion levelled by the Governor on PPP, they said that PPP did not believe in such politics but in peaceful political struggle to secure the rights of the downtrodden masses.

Taking exception to the governor’s statement "political balance" they said General Musharraf himself had admitted that he had bought peace for Karachi by making the MQM a ruling coalition partner.