KARACHI, May 18: The Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians president Makhdoom Amin Fahim has advised all political parties against making the recent general elections controversial. Mr Fahim was speaking to the newly elected legislators from Sindh, who were invited over a luncheon jointly hosted by former Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Owais Muzaffar Tappi, said to be a foster brother of President Asif Ali Zaradri, at a local hotel on Saturday.

The turnout of lawmakers at the reception was higher than what was witnessed a day earlier at the reception of the provincial assembly Speaker Nisar Ahmad Khuhro.

Like the Friday’s reception, the centre of attention of all the guests at the reception was Mr Tappi, who was found freely mingling with his guests.

The prominent people present at the lunch included PPPP president Makhdoom Amin Fahim, former Sindh governor Kamal Azfar, Senator Raza Rabbani, Syed Naveed Qamar, Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, etc.

Referring to complaints of rigging, Mr Fahim said that during the elections such issues came up and the PPP too had reservations in this regard, but in order to take the democratic process forward it had taken little notice of such issues for the sake of stability of democracy.

He said the mandate given by the people to the PPP was a proof that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto commanded respect in the hearts of the people.

Mr Khuhro said the verdict of the people given on May 11 was a manifestation of the fact that the people could not be misled by ‘conspiracies’ as they were fully aware of the sacrifices given in the struggle for restoration of democracy.

Without referring to the poor performance by the party in other provinces, he said such ‘ups and downs’ were routine in the life of a political party, but the past record of the PPP showed that as much the party was brought under pressure and as many hurdles were created in its way, it surged again with more spirit.

“It will be your performance in the assembly which will command respect from the people and in this connection we can get lead from our leaders Shaheed Bhutto and Shaheed Benazir Bhutto who live in the hearts of the people” he told the newly elected lawmakers.

Syed Qaim Ali Shah, expressing gratitude on behalf of him and Owais Muzaffar, referred to the situation with which country was passing through and said circumstances demanded to move forward with unity, consensus and harmony.

He thanked the people for reposing confidence in the party leadership once again.

He said democracy demanded that the way the party high-command Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto and Makhdoom Amin Fahim had accepted the mandate of the PML-N even when it had not attained a simple majority others should accept the PPP’s mandate given by the people of Sindh.

He said daily staging of sit-ins and crying foul play did not augur well for democracy and it demanded that mandate of people was duly respected by all so that the country could put to the road of progress and prosperity.

The meeting was conducted by PPP leader Mian Rashid Rabbani.