DACCA: The East Pakistan Awami League General Secretary, Mr Tajuddin Ahmed, has said that it was incorrect on the part of Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to claim that “neither the country’s constitution could be framed nor a Central Government could be formed without the active co-operation” of the People’s Party [Dec 21].

Dismissing the reported statement of the PPP chief, Mr Tajuddin emphasised that the people have voted to establish a real democracy in which power vested with the people and the legislature was constituted of one-man-one-vote principle. In such a system a party enjoying a comfortable and indeed an absolute majority — as the AL had with the clear electoral mandate — was quite competent to frame the constitution and form the Central Government, he asserted.

He said, “Punjab and Sind can no longer aspire to be bastions of power”. The democratic struggle of the people was aimed against such “bastions of power”. …

Mr Tajuddin said… co-operation, as might be obtained, would be for the AL to choose, which would be sought on the basis of adherence to and acceptance of principles and programmes of the AL, which sought to establish a new economic and social order free from exploitation. The AL might embark upon the work with or without any other party, he added.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2020