LAHORE, May 22 The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) staged a peace rally here on Friday to show solidarity with the internally displaced persons of Swat and support for the army operation there.

Led by PPP Punjab President Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan and Secretary-General Samiaullah Khan, participants marched from Nasser Bagh up to the Punjab Assembly building.

Hundreds of people attended the rally, and PPP Finance Secretary Aurangzeb Burki called the attendance satisfactory in the hot season, amid fears of any untoward incident.

A participant on a wheelchair and an old woman walking with the help of crutches were centre of attraction in the rally.

The mood of the rally was festive as many of the activists danced to the tune of drums. MPA Faiza Malik said the act was mismatching the sobriety required to display at such occasions.

Some people raised slogans to eulogise the “valour and wisdom” of President Asif Ali Zardari and others were taking advantage of the occasion to highlight the services of their local leaders.

An activist, using a loudspeaker, blamed former president Pervez Musharraf for the mess created in the north-western areas of the country as, according to him, the militants were provided cash and arms in the previous regime.

Rana Aftab said the country needed stability and unity and that the masses were with the government and the armed forces.

He defended the army operation in Swat, saying farmers and labourers would get their due earnings only in a peaceful atmosphere and the peace could be established by annihilating the anti-state elements.

He said Pakistan was an Islamic and peaceful country and only a handful of elements were damaging its peaceful environment.

He called for shunning political differences and forging a unity to foil designs of the anti-state elements.