ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Benazir Bhutto, has asked the members-elect of the People’s Party Parliamentarians to hold their heads high as “the party of the people that stand for principles has the courage to fight for them to resist temptation”.

She stated this in a letter, released here on Thursday by the PPP media cell, addressed to all the parliamentarians elected on the party ticket.

“I am proud of the way you conducted yourself with honour, dignity and principles”, she said in her letter.

“We refused to succumb to the bait offered by an alliance with the military regime‘s test tube party— the PML-Q. We declined to take the obvious bait of joining hands with religious parties in a vote swap.

“We are determined to keep our own identity presenting the people of Pakistan with a choice between the military party, the religious party and the democracy party of which we are a symbol.”

She said this policy would have its own rewards in the end. Giving guidelines to the party legislators, the chairperson said that our co-operation in any given situation must be on an issue-to-issue basis depending on the nature and merit of each issue that is at hand.

Ms Bhutto said: “It is an opportunity to sit as a deciding voice in parliament. This gives us the opportunity to work for the strength of parliament and the parliamentary form of government.

“This also gives elements within the ruling coalition, who are uncomfortable with being sidekicks of the regime, an opportunity to speak up for an independent parliament with greater confidence”.

She said the regime born in the corrupt practices of horse-trading which had made yesterdays ‘criminals’ today‘s ‘ministers’ was not going to last long.

She said the national interest and the interest of civil society were the guiding principles, which she had handed to them to illumine the path of the future.

Ms Bhutto also said it was understandable that the betrayal of the 10 PPP parliamentarians might have caused some loss of morale and confidence. “I praise you for valiantly and bravery hold together”, she told the MNAs.

She said the brave and the principled made history. The principled stand of the PPP has made it the only party, which, without holding office, commanded the influence to shape the destiny of the nation.

Benazir Bhutto asked the legislators not to be concerned by the criticism of opponents that the PPP followed policies of the West.

She said the PPP supported the policies of freedom, of opposition to extremism, of safeguarding the rights of women and minorities because these were universal principles were also upheld by the Western countries.

“These principles are key to the modernization of Pakistan and to its emergence as a country with dignity, honour and respect”, she added.

She said that the regime was weakening the democratic parties through state sponsored factionalism born of bribery and intimidation strengthening the forces of extremism.

Ms Bhutto said: “It is this policy which is damaging the emergence of Pakistan as a modern and democratic state whose people prosper and join the march of progress and success”.