PESHAWAR, Nov 9: The Pakistan People’s Party has demanded that the government should withdraw ‘fabricated’ cases against two former prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif, and allow them to return to their homeland.

Talking to Dawn here on Wednesday, PPP provincial chief Rahimdad Khan said that both the leaders had served the country and they deserved to stay with the people of their homeland after the Oct 8 earthquake that left thousands of people dead and injured and hundreds of thousands of people with little hope of a new life in the devastated villages and towns.

He said it was a national tragedy and military rulers should pave way for the honourable return of Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif so that they could serve the people.

Mr Khan said the federal government had failed to restore the confidence of the affected people. The government’s belated efforts had failed to solace the grief-stricken villagers, he added.

The PPP, he said, had been demanding that the government should form a joint parliamentary committee, which should act as a watchdog and monitor relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the affected districts. “The affected people are on the mercy of a conservative bureaucracy, which is known for making an ordinary problem more complicated instead of resolving it,” he added.

The PPP leader said the rulers were afraid of people’s unprecedented, but praiseworthy response towards the devastating earthquake and they thought it (national unity) also a threat to their unlawful rule over the country.

Mr Khan said that donor countries were reluctant to dole out the required financial assistance to the government, because it had failed to establish its democratic credentials abroad. The government was mistaken that the opposition parties would boycott the local bodies’ elections and King’s party would play alone, but the opposition parties had exposed the military rulers and their civilian allies during the elections, he claimed.

He feared that the rulers might manipulate the next general elections and temper the present parliamentary democratic system as they thought it a hurdle in the way of their permanent dictatorship. The rulers were so afraid of the elected representatives that they (rulers) had to amend the Local Government Ordinance, 2001, to clip the wings of district nazims, who might turn into an electoral college for the president after the next general elections, he observed.

The Punjab and Sindh governments, he said, had introduced some more amendments into the Local Government Ordinance, 2001, which had changed the entire election procedure of the conveners of the district and tehsil councils.

“The ordinance suggests a secret balloting for the election of deputy nazims, but, the Punjab and Sindh governments have changed it with the show-of-hand procedure and paved the way for rigging. Independent councillors will have no choice, but to vote in favour of the nominees of King’s party,” he added.

He criticized the ‘unnecessary’ delay in the deputy nazims (conveners) elections and urged the government to conduct it forthwith.