PESHAWAR: Former prime minister and PPP central secretary general Raja Pervez Ashraf on Thursday said democracy won’t take root in the country if elections were rigged.

“The 2013 general elections were massively rigged. Democracy will never flourish in the country under such circumstances, which in fact threatens the entire (political) system,” he told reporters at the Peshawar Press Club.

PPP provincial president Khanzada Khan, general secretary Hamayun Khan, MPAs Nighat Orakzai and Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha and other party leaders were also present on the occasion.

The former prime minister condemned the Army Public School Peshawar massacre and urged all political parties to show solidarity against terrorism.

Says army needs nation’s support against terrorism

He said the country faced difficult times as terrorism had emerged as the biggest national challenge. “A way-out should be found with a positive mind,” he said.

Ashraf said the APS carnage had no precedent and that it had shaken the entire nation as well as the world. He said the army needed the nation’s support for eradicating terrorism to restore sustainable peace in the country.

The former prime minister also complained about high electricity rate and said during his government, oil price was $140 per barrel in the international market and electricity rate was Rs7 per unit but ironically, now when oil was selling at below $50 per barrel in the international market, electricity was offered to the people in the country at the rate of Rs18 per unit.

He said the government should pass on the benefit of massive reduction in international oil price to people by reducing petroleum and electricity rates.

Ashraf said ousting the government was not the PPP’s mission.

“We can overthrow the government but doesn’t want to be blamed for the derailment of democracy. We’ve rendered tremendous sacrifices for democracy and will continue doing so,” he said.

The former prime minister praised members of Bhutto family for even laying down their lives for the country and democracy instead of compromising principles.

He said currently, politicians didn’t focus attention on the people’s real issues and instead, they tried to use the media, especially television channels, for propaganda.

Ashraf said his government honourably repatriated more than 2.5 million displaced persons of Swat and even its ministers stayed in the camps of IDPs to supervise relief activities but the current government was indifferent to the misery of tribesmen displaced from their homes.

“Today no one asks about their (IDPs) plight. As a result, they are in distress,” he said.

The former prime minister said his government regularised its over 150,000 contractual employees and increased the salary and pension of regular employees.

He flayed the Workers Welfare Board layoffs and said the move would adversely affect poor workers and their families.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2015

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