SIALKOT, March 30: The Pakistan People’s Party’s Punjab president, Qasim Zia, has ruled out any possibility of PPPP striking any deal with the government, and vowed to continue struggle for bringing sustainable democracy in the country. Speaking at a party workers’ meeting here late on Tuesday, he said that the PPPP would never compromise on its basic principals.

He said democracy was a must for bringing the country at par with the socially, politically and economically developed nations. Mr Zia stated that the PPPP would fully participates in the upcoming local bodies polls.

Benazir Bhutto’s political secretary MNA Ms Naheed Khan also spoke to the workers, and asked them to come forward to get rid of the regime and to establish ‘real democracy’ in the country, saying it was high time to do so. She urged the politicians to shun their mutual differences and join hands with the party for the cause of ‘real democracy’.

HARDSHIPS: Local traders particularly exporters are facing hardships owing to the defective telecommunication system.

Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Qaiser S. Shabbir said this in a press statement issued here on Wednesday.

The SCCI chief said the business community was confronting with serious problems as traders had been finding it difficult to make contacts with foreign buyers through fax for the last one-and-a-month.

He said that authorities concerned had already been informed about the poor state of affairs, but they had not taken any appropriate step in this regard.

Mr Shabbir said the business community feared that foreign orders would be cancelled which would inflict a heavy loss to the government exchequer as well.

He also pointed out that the ISDN/DSL service had not so far been provided to Sialkot and Ghueinki-Daska telephone exchanges. He said the situation had already been brought to the notice of Federal Telecommunication Minister Owais Khan Leghari.