PESHAWAR, June 6: The People’s Party Parliamentarians has announced that all its district organisations will stage protest demonstrations against the suspension of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the promulgation of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Ordinance across the province on Thursday.
Speaking at a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club on Wednesday, People’s Party Parliamentarians provincial chief Rahimdad Khan said his party would express solidarity with Chief Justice Chaudhry and the journalist community as they were fighting against the tyranny of one man.
He said he had asked all district organisations to hold demonstrations at their respective district headquarters.
He said lawyers and political parties were jointly struggling for the independence of the judiciary and restoration of real democracy in the country.
He said the government had conceded its defeat the day it had promulgated the Pemra Ordinance and banned the live coverage of Chief Justice Chaudhry’s tour to Haripur and Abbottabad.
Mr Rahimdad said the government had yet not tabled the budget in the parliament, but the people had been burdened with the price-hike.
He said the government had no control over the black-marketers, hoarders and smugglers who had been running a parallel economy in the country for the last seven years.
He denied that the People’s Party Parliamentarians was still engaged in talks with the emissaries of President Pervez Musharraf on a political deal.
He said in politics backchannels were often used, but it did not mean that any compromise was on the cards, and added that the PPP had time and again dispelled such impressions given by the government through its state propaganda.
He said the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-N were active along with other politi-cal parties at the ARD platform, which was an opposition alliance.
