SUKKUR, Jan 17: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said the demand for formation of a national government after the announcement of the election schedule is unjustified and against ground realities and the Constitution.

Talking to PPP leaders at Sukkur airport before leaving for Naudero, he said party workers should display tolerance, ignore rumours and stay focussed on the election campaign.

“People’s sympathy for the PPP has risen after the death of Benazir Bhutto and they will vote for the party on February 18,” he said. He asked party leaders and workers to prepare for the polls so that no one could dare rig it.—PPI

Our Larkana Correspondent adds: Talking to delegations which came to Naudero to offer condolences, Mr Zardari said ‘a small minority’ was behind the murder of Ms Bhutto and the same group was trying to dismember the country. He stressed the need for unmasking the group.

He said that people should transform their grief into strength and actively participate in the polls. He also said that the PPP would establish contacts throughout the world after having written a letter to the UN demanding an international probe into the murder of the chairperson.

ANP’s Senator Illyas Bilour and delegations from Upper Dir and other parts of the country met Mr Zardari and offered condolences.

Meanwhile, people from all walks of life continued visiting Garhi Khuda Bakhsh on Thursday and offered prayers for Benazir Bhutto and Z. A. Bhutto.