SWABI, Sept 2: The fate of the people of Pakistan will no longer be decided in London or Washington because they they fully understand now what has been given to them by those leaders who have allied themselves with their ‘western paymasters’.

These views were expressed by leaders of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf at a Workers’ Convention held here on Sunday.

The PTI leaders said the people were now well aware how the US treated their country and how Islamabad was being used as a pawn to achieve Washington’s ulterior global objectives.

They said that Pakistan army’s continued operation in Waziristan was part of the US agenda and it should immediately be stopped. The best solution, they said, was possible only through negotiations and not through the barrel of the gun.

PTI provincial vice-president Asad Qaisar said that politicians should forge unity in their ranks and, instead of strengthening the present dictatorial regime, they should work for more unity in their ranks to bring the country on to the democratic track.

He said democratic leaders never looked for ‘deals’ with dictators and they worked for the restoration of a genuine democratic order in the country.

He said all those leaders who were trying to strike a deal with the military dictator to come to power through the back door were doomed to face defeat.

PTI District chief organiser Rangaiz Khan said that the next general election was the mother of all elections because the country could not afford more mistakes of its leaders.

“We need an honest leadership that could take our sinking boat to the shore safely,” he said.

“The people should be careful in exercising their right of vote”.

M. Sohail, the district president of the PTI, said that independence of judiciary had raised hopes of the people that justice would no longer be delayed.

He said the people should learn a lesson from lawyers whose sacrifices had led to an independent judiciary and following the same pattern the people should vote those leaders out of power who did not deliver the goods.

The convention also passed a resolution, condemning the transfer of Rs461.122 million from the Muslim Commercial Bank, Swabi, to another bank by the Swabi Development Authority.

It also expressed concern over the delay in the balloting of 10-marla plots and demanded that the price of the form should be brought down to Rs200 from Rs1000.