January 05, 2008	Saturday	Zilhaj 25, 1428

LARKANA, Jan 4: Sindhi writers and intellectuals on Friday condemned large-scale arrests of PPP activists in Sindh and said that insinuations of lingual and ethnic bias made by President Pervez Musharraf, Chaudhry Pervaiz Illahi and Altaf Hussain in their speeches was dangerous because it might inflame passions along wrong lines all over the country.

This was stated in a document distributed among journalists on Friday after members of the Sindh Democratic Forum (SDF) met Asif Ali Zardari to condole Benazir Bhutto’s death. They also visited Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto to lay a floral wreath over the slain PPP leader’s grave.

Accusing the government of killing Ms Bhutto, the document said that no amount of finger pointing towards Baitullah Mahsood and other jihadi elements could hide the government’s complicity in the monumental crime.

Resolutions contained in the documents said that Ms Bhutto’s death was a grievous and irreparable loss to Sindh and Pakistan, and all peace-loving and democratic people of the world.

They said that they would combat all attempts at dividing the people of Pakistan and Sindh on ethnic and linguistic lines with “full force of our secular, democratic and progressive spirit”.

They appealed to the people of Sindh and Pakistan to stand united against the evil forces of dictatorship to strengthen democracy and pluralism.

The SDF delegation included Abrar Qazi, Naseer Memon, Aijaz Qureshi, Zulfikar Haliopto and Zulfikar Qadri.

Meanwhile, Mrs Bushra Aitzaz, wife of the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Aitzaz Ahsan, offered condolences over Ms Bhutto’s death to Asif Zardari.

Later, she told Dawn that Mr Ahsan could not come because the government had extended his detention by a month.

She said that Ms Bhutto was transforming the people’s power into reality and stood against the establishment.

A delegation of South Asia Free Media Association (Safma) led by Najam Sethi, Imtiaz Alam, Munoo Bhai and Dr Jabbar Khattak met Asif Zardari and condoled the death of Ms Bhutto.

Imranullah Khan, Maj-Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir and a delegation of the People’s Lawyers Forum headed by Barrister Masood Kusar, Imdad Awan and others also met Mr Zardari.

In a related development, local leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party decided to commemorate the 80th birth anniversary of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on Saturday with simplicity in Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto.