PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has directed both the party’s provincial office-bearers and disgruntled activists to team up to reorganise the party in the province within three months.

A senior PPP leader told Dawn on Saturday that the decision was taken by the party head on the workers’ complaints about serious differences within the party’s provincial chapter and their negative impact on the party’s position in the province.

He said the current office-bearers were opposed to the party’s reorganisation through intra-party elections, while the annoyed activists didn’t favour nominations and raised voice for taking all workers on board about reorganisation.

The PPP leader said Mr. Bilawal was sincere about the party’s reorganisation in the province but the leaders of different groups had confused him about what to do.

He insisted the PPP chairman was not given a freehand by father Asif Ali Zardari to take major steps to end differences in the party’s provincial chapter as several ‘unpopular’ leaders had got close to him (Zardari) through his sister, Faryal Talpur.

The PPP leader said Mr. Bilawal ordered the party’s reorganisation in the province during a meeting in Islamabad on Jan 18.

“He (Mr. Bilawal) also issued directions for the formation of a committee consisting of provincial office-bearers and disgruntled activists to mobilise workers and sympathisers, launch membership campaign and announce organisations,” he said.

In the meeting, the angry activists were represented by former KP Governor Barrister Masood Kausar, Engineer Tariq Khattak and Syed Ayub Shah and the party’s provincial leadership by general secretary Mohammad Humayun Khan, People’s Lawyer Forum president Akbar Khan and information secretary Liaquat Shabab.

PPP provincial president Khanzada Khan was not in attendance due to the death of his brother.

PPP Senators Sherry Rehman and Farhatullah Babar were also present in the meeting.

When contacted, member of the joint committee Syed Ayub Shah said disgruntled workers only wanted to see the party on the right track and intra-party elections were the only step for the purpose.

“We are party people and have to accept whatever decision the central leadership takes but it is our democratic right to give suggestions to it besides share with it our experiences for the sake of strengthening the party,” he said.

Mr. Shah said all ideological people wanted the party’s revival in the province in line with democratic norms and culture so that the actual mission of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto could be executed in true sense.

PPP provincial information secretary Liaquat Shabab told Dawn that Mr. Bilawal had directed the re-organisation committee to begin work and submit report on it to him on monthly basis.

“The committee will also work for the re-organisation of the party’s all sister organisations, especially People’s Youth Organisation, People’s Students Federation, labour wing, women’s wing, to strengthen the party across the province,” he said.

Mr. Shabab said the re-organisation committee had also been tasked with patching up differences among activists in various districts for the election of office-bearers with consensus.

He said the mobilisation of workers would begin from remote districts and would be expanded to other parts of the province within three months.

The PPP information secretary said the re-organisation committee was scheduled to meet tomorrow (Monday) to design the membership form and decide the procedure for the strengthening of the party.

He denied Mr. Bilawal was struggling to take major decisions about the party for being denied a freehand by Mr. Asif Zardari.

“All such rumours are being spread by the anti-PPP forces,” he said.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2016