RAWALPINDI: The PPP’s district, city and cantonment chapters separately celebrated former prime minister and party chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s 64th birthday on Wednesday.

The three events were arranged at different locations and workers celebrated by cutting birthday cakes after iftar, but no iftar dinner was arranged for the party workers.

Older party workers have boycotted birthday celebrations of Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in the past, due to a dispute with the party organisation led by former PPP city president Amir Fida Paracha.

This year, despite the formation of a new party organisation in Rawalpindi, the party remained divided. The city organisation of the party, led by PPP City President Babar Jadoon, invited all the party workers, but not many people attended the event at the party offices.

“The division of the party in the cantonment and city chapters failed to unite local leaders and workers, as they did not come to the party’s functions,” a senior party leader told Dawn.

He said at present three organisations are running the affairs of the party – the district, city and cantonment chapters – but they failed to arrange a joint function to celebrate the occasion because of their differences.

The PPP district chapter arranged an event at a local hotel at Committee Chowk, the PPP city chapter cut a cake at the party offices in Liaquat Bagh and the cantonment chapter held an event at Chungi No.22, while a separate cantonment event was arranged on Peshawar Road.

Naheed Khan, who was close to Bhutto and leads a party group called the PPP Workers Party, arranged a birthday event at Bhutto’s memorial in Liaquat Bagh, where she was assassinated on Dec 27, 2007.

In response to a question about the low attendance, the party leader said party workers were not interested in participating in events arranged by local leaders selected by the part on the basis of likes and dislikes. He said the party failed to make arrangements for a joint event that would give a message of unity within the party before the general election, adding that the party is facing a difficult time in the city with its workers moving to other parties, but no one in the party was willing to bring them back.

When contacted, PPP City spokesperson Nasir Mir said the party arranged a low profile event due to Ramazan, as most people are busy during the last days of the month.

He said the party will soon arrange a large event, after Eidul Fitr, to give its opponents a message that the entire party is united under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

He said the party would soon launch an anti-government campaign led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari from Liaquat Bagh, and work has started in this regard.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2017