QUETTA, Aug 13: Convenor of the People’s Democratic Movement Abid Hasan Minto on Sunday said that vested interest wanted to maintain the status quo to continue exploitation and urged progressive political forces to forge unity to break the stalemate for social and economic progress.

Addressing a press conference at the press club here, Mr Minto said that political groups of Taj Marri, Mairaj Mohammad Khan, Tufail Abbass, Afzal Khamosh, Farooq Tariq, Rasool Bakhsh Palijo had merged their organisations into the PDM, adding that the movement’s national council would elect new office-bearers.

He said that the signing of the ‘charter of democracy’, despite its lacking social and economic programmes, was a welcome step as the two former prime ministers had committed not to repeat past mistakes besides pledging to eliminate army’s role in national politics.

Mr Minto said that it would be difficult for the army to abandon its political role as it had now become more of a corporate entity than a national institution, adding that it had economic interest in the National Logistic Cell, Askari Bank and Fauji Foundation.

He said that the collaboration between army, feudal lords, capitalists and extremist religious forces was the root-cause of the status quo and the establishment had been using the opportunistic politicians to keep the existing exploitative system intact.