PESHAWAR: The Pakistan People’s Party is likely to replace its office-bearers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shortly chiefly to please disgruntled activists.

According to an insider, the changes are the PPP leadership will make an announcement in this respect during a function to be held at Bilawal House, Lahore on Nov 30 to mark the party’s 47th foundation day.

“The replacement has become imminent in the wake of formation of parallel organisations by annoyed party workers in different districts as they’re not ready to accept the sitting office-bearers at any cost and demand intra-party elections to let workers choose office-bearers of their choice,” he said.

The Bilawal House foundation day function will be attended by workers from across the country.

The leadership has already tasked senior leaders and activists with ensuring presence of a large number of people from their respective areas in the event.

For the purpose, the PPP has divided Punjab into southern and northern Punjab. Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is the coordinator for southern Punjab, former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for northern Punjab and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Masood Kausar for his province.

Similarly, coordinators have been appointed for other provinces, Gilgit, Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The insider said around 1,000 people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would participate in the foundation day function, where leaders of different wings would openly express their views about the existing party organisations and give suggestions for revival of the party.

He said the central leadership had planned to bring some new faces, preferably young people to take some drastic steps for re-activating the dormant workers and counter the youth-oriented shows of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

The source said replacement of office bearers would be a revolutionary step and part of his policy to bring reforms in the party and to attract the annoyed people in order to regain past position.

Though, the source was not sure about the next provincial leaders but disclosed that former MNA Noor Alam Khan might replace the sitting president Khanzada Khan and former deputy speaker of National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi would replace the provincial General Secretary Mohammad Humayyun Khan.

Also, the other office bearers would also be replaced gradually in consultation with the new provincial president.

However, when the former provincial minister and Secretary Information Liaquat Shabab was contacted for comments said that over 2,000 people would move to Lahore for the foundation day function. He said that there was no report about replacement of any of the office bearers, saying that the party was making progress and there was no grouping in it in the province.

“Now there is no rift in the party because Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari during his the previous meeting at Lahore had clearly said that he would not tolerate any kinds of groupings in the party,” he claimed.

Shabab said the annoyed people had stopped their activities and would participate in the foundation day function.

“There must of some complaints, suggestions and the chairman will note them if justifiable and in the best interests of the party,” he said.

However, the annoyed activists have pinned high hopes in young PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari insisting he (Bilawal) has already showed willingness to hold intra-party elections.

“We have welcomed the announcement of Bilawal about intra-party elections and waiting for a schedule to be announced for the purpose so that we could move to different districts to activate the disgruntled workers,” former provincial information secretary of the PPP Khwaja Yawar Naseer said.

He said Bilawal being young would revive the party across the country and name the office-bearers through intra-party elections to remove internal differences once and for all.

Yawar said if intra-party elections were held, the party would regain its past strength in the province.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2014