PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party has formed a joint organising committee comprising its provincial office-bearers and some disgruntled leaders to devise a plan for holding intra-party elections initially in five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Formation of the committee was long awaited but it got delayed owing to differences in the party on the issue of intra-party elections. However, following instructions from PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, both the groups of the party agreed to sit together and devise a plan to fulfil demand of workers.

The provincial leadership of the party has announced former provincial president of the party, Rahim Dad Khan, as convener of the organising committee while the disgruntled activists are trying to make former governor Barrister Masood Kausar head of the committee.

The elections will be held initially in five districts

The representatives of PPP provincial leadership in the committee will include provincial general secretary Eng Mohammad Humayun Khan, secretary information Liaquat Shabab, MPA Sahibzada Sanaullah and People’s Lawyers Forum president Akbar Khan while the annoyed group has nominated former MPA Syed Ayub Shah, Barrister Masood Kausar, Tahir Abbas and former MNA Eng Tariq Khattak as members of the committee.

An insider said that leadership had not given any timeframe to the committee for completion of the intra-party elections.

“We want to start work on formation of organising committees for various districts so that they (committees) could decide mode of elections in the respective districts,” Syed Ayub Shah told Dawn.

This process, he said, had been initiated for the first time in history of the party and efforts would be made to ensure that genuine people would become members on the basis of merit instead of using other tactics.

Mr Shah said that annoyed activists did not want to create any problem for the leadership but it was need of the hour to launch membership drive and then hold intra-party elections. He said that efforts would be made to implement party’s manifesto in real sense and introduce democratic culture in the party.

PPP secretary information Liaquat Shabab said that intra-party elections would be held basically in five districts as test case. If the experiment proved successful then the elections would be held in rest of all districts, he added. The members of organising committees at district level would not contest elections for any of the offices and their role would be impartial.

“Every district organising committee will have the authority to adopt whatever method it applies for holding intra-party elections, however, the best way will be membership process from village council level to ensure transparency,” he added.

Next meeting of the committee, Mr Shabab, said would be held after death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto on Dec 27. Te anniversary would be held at district level while provincial office-bearers of the party would go to Larkana for participating in the main event.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2015