LAHORE, Jan 6: Qaumi Jamhoori Party’s National Organizer Omar Asghar Khan believed on Sunday that his party’s demands — proportionate representation, reduction in the size of constituencies to double the seats in assemblies and allocation of 33 per cent of them for women — would be accepted.

The former local government and labour minister, who has resigned from the federal cabinet recently to launch the new party, made the demands at the first meeting of his party here.

When asked whether these demands were the actual electoral plan the government intended to introduce for restoring democracy in the country he said: “I hope it will be done. I had talked on this with the president when I was the minister and he should consider the demands.”

Omar said the party was launched to ensure basic rights of the people, to provide them with education, health cover, employment and to divert major national resources for their welfare. The party wanted to bring the poor, neglected and the middle class people to the mainstream national politics to give them the right of determining their own future, he said.

He said the party’s manifesto was being drafted by a group of experts. It would be finalized in consultation with the party workers after two-weeks. Countrywide tours would be conducted during the next one-and-a-half month to organize it and to embrace deprived and neglected people so that they could reach the senate and the assemblies.

He said that the basic aim of his party was to eliminate poverty and deprivation from the country that has many resources but which had been plundered by the past rulers.

The list of the assets of the previous two prime ministers which published in newspapers was spread over two pages each and it transpired during recent cabinet meetings that Rs1.30 billion were alone spent in the prime minister’s office.

“This happened in the country where human beings and animals drink water from the same ponds,” Omar said.

He said posh residential colonies and societies were created during the past 10 years in the country and asked as to how many small houses were built for the people. “If there were small houses as to how many were given to the people,” he asked.

Omar said the political parties in the past used the workers as their servants. They were the future of Pakistan but they received only exploitation as a reward of their sacrifices. The workers were made to fight with one another by their leaders and the outfits which indulged in terrorism.

“We intend to unite them and to give them honour,” he said.

He said the present government increased the country’s reserves from Rs1 billion to Rs5 billion in two years with better planning and sagacity. His party intended to increase the reserves further to Rs15 billion in five years.

Omar said his party intended to provide shelter to the shelterless and land to the landless, adequate wages and the right to form union to workers and to provide better medical care to them and their families.

Party leaders Dr Zafar Mirza, Malik Hamid Sarfraz, Ms Rashida, Chaudhry Akram Nagra, Air Marshal Khurshid Anwar Mirza (retired), Niaz Kathia and others also spoke at the meeting.

A number of women, members of the Christian community and the president of the kutcha abadis union also announced that they have joined the party.