KARACHI, May 10: The National Workers Party (NWP) has condemned the recent attempt by unknown persons to kidnap its Secretary General Akhtar Hussain by raiding and attempting to trespass into his residence.

The party demanded that the government immediately take action against those involved in the attempt.

The NWP Senior Central Vice President, Yusuf Masti Khan, while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday, termed it an act of victimisation by the government as Akhtar Hussain, who is a former President of the Sindh High Court Bar Association, had been playing an active role in the ongoing lawyers’ movement.

He added that the second proof of victimisation was the sealing of the office and indiscriminate firing at the residence of President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Munir A. Malik.

He said that the government wanted to sabotage the lawyers’ movement with such nefarious tactics.

The NWP leader said that his party would continue to take part in the ongoing struggle of the lawyers and people but would fully participate in the rally being organised to welcome the chief justice on his arrival in Karachi on Saturday.

Mr Masti Khan, who was flanked by other leaders of the party, including Akhtar Hussain, revealed the party’s decisions taken at its national convention in Lahore, where besides new elections of the party office bearers the convention discussed different aspects of the current national and international situation.

The party called for concrete steps to introduce meaningful reforms that would release the rural masses from feudal bondage and help improve the quality of their lives.

The party also demanded the acquisition of state land gifted to retired and serving military-men and bureaucrats, and its redistribution among landless peasants.

Radical reduction in military expenditures; sincere efforts to resolve the conflict with India; unrestricted freedom for the media; independent foreign policy; cessation of all hostile actions in Balochistan and opening a dialogue with political parties representing the people of Balochistan; appropriate amendments in the constitution to ensure the rights of the federating units/nationalities over their natural resources; further measures to ensure equal rights for women and minorities and abolition of all anti-labour laws, including IRO 2002, were some of the party’s other demands.