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KARACHI, Dec 5: Paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the October 18 terrorist attack on Benazir Bhutto’s homecoming procession, Pakistan People’s Party central leader Nisar Khuhro on Wednesday criticised the government for not handing over the remains of 20 missing party workers to their heirs.
Mr Khuhro, the former leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly, was talking to newsmen at the People’s Secretariat on the Chehlum of Oct 18 victims.
He claimed that 20 party workers were missing and several bodies were unrecognizable while the body parts were still in the custody of government that did not bother to carry out DNA tests to identify the missing civilians. He said Ms Benazir Bhutto had announced that the deceased workers would be laid to rest near the grave of PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
He said the government had announced Rs300,000 as compensation for PPP workers who lost their lives in the twin blasts but their heirs had not been paid a single penny so far. He said the government did not register an FIR on the pary’s request. Besides, he said, the government even did not start probe of the incident as demanded by the PPP.
Former senator Taj Haider, former governor of Sindh Kamal Azfar, Prof N.D. Khan, Rashid Rabbani, Waqar Mehdi, Saeed Ghani, Mirza Ikhtiar Baig and a large number of PPP workers were present on the occasion.
PPP women workers held separate congregation meeting on the premises of PPP Sindh Secretariat and offered fateha for the deceased party workers.
Joint meeting
The joint committee of the All-Pakistan Democratic Movement and the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy met under the chairmanship of Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, adds PPI.
The meeting discussed the proposals for ensuring fair and free elections, revocation of extra-constitutional action taken on Nov 3 and restoration of the 1973 Constitution as it stood on Oct 12, 1999. Some recommendations relating to benchmarks and framework for holding of fair and free election were finalised with consensus.
The meeting, attended by Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, Prof Khurshid Ahmad, Abdul Rahim Mandokhel, Mir Hasil Bazinjo, Akram Shah and Jan Mohammad Buledi on behalf of the APDM and Mian Raza Rabbani, Dr Safdar Abbasi, Naveed Malik and Abdul Qadir Khamosh on behalf of the ARD, was adjourned till 4pm on Dec 6 to finalise the charter of demands.
