January 02, 2008	Wednesday	Zilhaj 22, 1428

KARACHI, Jan 1: Expressing profound grief over PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, veteran politician Sardar Sherbaz Mazari on Wednesday called for unity, despite the political divide.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, Mr Mazari criticised the regime for working against that unity as it continued to attack civil society and weaken the key institutions of the state.

“Not satisfied by the damage that they have done to the Constitution, the judiciary, the media and freedom of speech, they have now turned their attention to manipulating the forthcoming elections in every possible manner,” he said.

Sardar Mazari, whose son Sheryar Mazari is a PPP candidate from NA-210 in upper Sindh, accused the regime of soliciting “unconstitutional and active support of the Nazims in the electoral process”.

He dismissed as “ludicrous” charges against his son and said that if this was the way the government and its supporters chose to deal with the opposition then he had no expectations from the forthcoming elections.