LAHORE, Feb 21: The Punjab PPP will hold “peaceful rallies” at all district headquarters on Thursday to protest against the publication of blasphemous cartoons. This was decided at a meeting of the party’s provincial executive committee which met here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Qasim Zia.

Briefing reporters about the deliberations, information secretary Naveed Chaudhry said his party was not joining the MMA in their allies although it would express solidarity with the religious alliance’s programmes for Feb 24 and 26.

He argued since the PPP also wanted to protest against other issues like sugar shortage and the deteriorating law and order situation, it would not like the issue of blasphemy mingled with other matters.

PPP leaders Raja Zulqernain and Iqbal Sialvi were also present at the briefing.

Naveed Chaudhry alleged the government was arresting or detaining various PPP leaders to keep them away from the protest programmes. However, he said, the detention orders would be challenged before the Lahore High Court on Wednesday by the party’s legal aid cell headed by Mr Zulqernain.

He claimed 40 PPP leaders and workers had been arrested from Lahore on Tuesday alone.

The PPP leader said the government was deliberately allowing the law and order situation to degenerate to get an excuse to ban religious parties and have martial law imposed.

He held the government responsible for the sugar crisis, saying 80 per cent of the sugar industry was being controlled by various ministers. Then, he said, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan was withholding sugar stocks because of which the crisis was deepening. He announced the schedule for conventions of various wings in various cities.