KARACHI, June 27: The Labour Party Pakistan on Wednesday criticised the government policies and asked President Pervez Musharraf “to admit his failure and tender resignation in the interest of the nation”.

LPP General Secretary Farooq Tariq, speaking at a reception held in his honour at a hotel on his release from jail, said that the ruling parties had failed to serve the people and there was no justification for Pervez Musharraf to hold the offices of president and army chief.

He expressed his shock over the killing of innocent people on May 12 and then due to the rains in different areas of the city, saying that those were the proofs of the government’s failure.

He also condemned the policies of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement which, he alleged, was involved in the killing of innocent people.

About the deaths of people during the current rains, he said the city government was showing wrong figures about the casualties and trying to misguide the people, adding that facts could not be denied through baseless propaganda.

He said both the Jamaat-i-Islami and the MQM should seek public apology as, he said, they had earlier demanded the privatisation of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation and now they were demanding its nationalisation. He said he favoured its nationalisation but under the joint supervision of the labour union and the management.

Abdul Salam, Azra Perveen, Mohammad Juman and Haji Bashir also spoke on the occasion.