LAHORE, Oct 22: The Punjab PPP executive council discussed various proposals for preparing a new manifesto of the party at a meeting on Monday.

Party’s senior vice-chairman Makhdoom Amin Faheem also participated in it.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, provincial general secretary Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan said the current situation has necessitated the need to look for ways and means to implement the basic slogan of the party roti, kapra aur makan.

He said all the policies like labour, agriculture, health, etc. and the time-frame for their implementation would be included in the new manifesto.

Declining to make public the proposals discussed in the meeting, he said so far an outline of the new manifesto had been prepared.

It would be further discussed at workers’ conventions to be organized at district level, Rana Aftab said.

The new manifesto would be published after getting it approved by party chairperson Benazir Bhutto and the Central Executive Council.

“For the first time suggestions are being sought from the grassroots level for the preparation of party’s manifesto,” he claimed.

He said the party was also reviewing the mistakes committed in the implementation of the past manifestoes during its last tenures in the government.

Central deputy information secretary Altaf Qureshi said that there were no flaws in the past manifestoes of the party. He also claimed that during the tenure of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto most part of the manifesto had been implemented.

“Agriculture reforms had been introduced, over 1.75 million acres had been distributed among landless farmers, educational institutions and industrial concerns had been nationalized under this manifesto,” he said.

That was why, he said, the poor masses still loved the late Bhutto and vote for the party under all circumstances.

About the two tenures of Ms Bhutto, he said her first term lasted just 18 months and the party could not do much for the welfare of the masses. However, he said thousands of (PPP) workers were released from jails and over 450,000 were given jobs, while the ban on students unions was also lifted.

About PPP’s failure to introduce the district government system given by the party in the manifesto for 1993 elections, Qureshi said the party could not implement the idea owing to extreme opposition by the establishment.

Asked what if the establishment again created hurdles in the implementation of the new manifesto, he said the party was also discussing the parameters for developing a working relationship with the establishment to avoid any such situation.

Makhdoom Amin Faheem said that they had not reached any deal with the government for supporting the latter in its decision on Afghan issue.

He said the party supported the military government on the issue in the larger interest of the country.

He said that he would not give any remarks outside the line adopted by the party chairperson on the issue keeping in view the circumstances the country was going through.