January 25, 2008	Friday	Muharram 15, 1429

LARKANA, Jan 24: The Sindh National Front (SNF) chairman Mumtaz Ali Bhutto on Thursday questioned spending Rs300 million on security arrangements for Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

Mumtaz said during a meeting with former federal minister Ghous Bakhsh Mahar, Sardar Himmath Ali Kamariyo and Zulfikar Kamariyo in Mirpur Bhutto that Zardari had not done any extraordinary service for people to deserve such a huge spending from public money.

He asked what was the need for spending such a huge amount on the man, who was facing several cases against him including that of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and plundering public money.

He said that the best way for him was to leave Naudero if he felt himself insecure even. When people were facing crisis of water, flour and electricity and braving deteriorating law and order situation, price spiral, corruption and unemployment huge money was being spent on one man’s security, he said.

PPP leaders who were crying for elections did not reflect the party’s pro-democracy stand and the party was busy in reaping maximum possible personal and political gain from the charged atmosphere in the wake of tragic death of its leader Ms Benazir Bhutto, he observed.

He criticised PPP's stance on its leader’s murder and said it was confusing to ask people to take revenge through use of vote. Revenge for murder could be taken through votes and the party’s stance was tantamount to shedding crocodile tears, he said.

Mumtaz said that PPP governments were twice dismissed on charges of corruption. They (PPP) had focused on minting money and filling their coffers at the cost of people, he said.

He cautioned people against getting trapped by PPP's eye catching slogans and offers and predicted end of the party after upcoming elections.

At present the party workers who had concentrated on elections could not see the truth but afterwards they would definitely be able to see that Asif Zardari did not deserve to occupy the chair that Shaheed Z.A. Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had sat on, he said.

Mr Zardari lacked political acumen and capability to run the party for he had not a towering personality like Bhuttos nor could he hide his weaknesses whenever he faced media, he said.

Mumtaz said that the party leaders who had put up with Zardari due to Shaheed Bhutto would no longer tolerate him in future. The party had several leaders with higher political, personal and educational status than Zardari and they would not afford to follow him in the days to come, he said.

The party’s roots amid its true workers like him when Shaheed Bhutto led it were so strong that even army dictators failed to uproot them, he said.