LAHORE: Nahid Khan and Dr Safdar Abbasi have launched a new PPP faction – Pakistan People’s Party Workers (PPP-W).

Mr Abbasi was elected its first president through a resolution at the workers convention at Awan-i-Iqbal here on Wednesday. Earlier, the disgruntled couple of PPP had launched the Bhutto Shaheed Benazir Workers Movement.

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Speaking on the occasion, Safdar Abbasi said the diehard PPP workers needed a new platform to continue their political activities. “We will now contest the next elections from this platform,” he said.

He said since the PPP had stopped following the vision of Z.A Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, it lost the last election badly. He said Nahid Khan was fighting the case of PPP’s registration in the Islamabad High Court and the workers were behind her.

Nahid Khan said many PPP leaders including Asif Ali Zardari were hiding behind Bilawal Bhutto instead of facing the workers. She said Bilawal was the son of Shaheed Benazir and he should not follow the style of his father’s politics.

“PPP is a party of federation. Bilawal will have to decide whether he has to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and mother or carry the heavy luggage of last seven years of the party,” she said.

Nahid Khan further said: “Iif Bilawal needs our support we are ready to stand by him. But he needs to purge the party of opportunists.” She said the workers did not demand jobs but self-respect from the leadership. She said in the convention those workers were present who faced dictatorship and underwent imprisonment. “The PPP leadership had forgotten them. We will restore their self-esteem,” she said and added that the PPP-W would revolt against those who had deserted the workers.

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Sajida Mir, Sardar Hur Bokkhari, Gen (retired) Ahsan Ahmed, Nasir Khatak, Waqas Ahmed, Ibn-e-Rizvi and Fayaz Khan also spoke. A large number of workers from Kashmir and Gilgit Biltistan also attended the convention.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2014