PESHAWAR, April 27: The Pakistan People’s Party has expressed its profound concern over the increasing poverty, lawlessness and unemployment in the country and held the government responsible for it.

Speaking to provincial office-bearers, members of the coordination committee and other wings of the party here on Saturday, the PPP leaders observed that things had been moving from bad to worse since 1999.

Both the previous and present governments, they said, had failed to provide any relief to the people groaning under the spiralling price hike and unemployment, they added.

Qamar Abbas, senior vice-president of the provincial chapter of the party, said the government had miserably failed in stemming the wave of rising lawlessness as the police force itself had become a target of criminals in various districts.

Barrister Masood Kausar, Najmuddin Khan, Khwaja Yawar Naseer, Ayub Shah, Ghani Gul Mehsood, Mrs Mehrunnisa Afridi, Ismat Karim, Lal Mohammad Khan, Umar Farooq Khan Hoti, Jamal Khattak, Faisal Kundi, Gohar Inqilabi, Arshad Baloch, Shamsher Ali, Mohim  Afridi and Zeeshan Jauhar attended the meeting.

The meeting formed various committees for getting problems of the subordinate wings solved within 15 days. The divisional council was also directed to convene their meetings.

Mr Abbas urged the party leaders to mobilize the general people, through meetings, about the designs of the ruling alliance in the country, who, they alleged, had “resurrected the rule of exploitative forces.”

He asked the party workers to resist the dictatorial measures of the government against the supremacy of parliament.

He said the present stop-gap arrangement made by the rulers in the name of democracy was designed to create a group of loyals to share power with them.

Through a resolution, the meeting also demanded of the federal government to withdraw cases registered against the PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari.

The meeting also expressed its deep sorrow over the death of a former PPP MPA, Hameedullah Khan, and praised his services for the people.