LAHORE, Feb 8: The Punjab PPP will start selection of its candidates for the National and Punjab assemblies for the forthcoming general elections from Feb 26.
This was decided at a meeting of the Lahore Coordination Committee (LCC) held here on Friday. The committee along with the provincial leadership will start the task division-wise by summoning the candidates as well as the presidents of the division and the district concerned in the central Punjab.
Party’s district chiefs have already been directed to nominate at least three suitable candidates for each constituency, whether NA or PA. The committee will scrutinize the candidates and send the names of the most suitable people to chairperson Benazir Bhutto for final approval.
Rejecting amendments to the constitution changing its basic structure, the LCC meeting condemned the proposed creation of 26 provinces in the country terming it a conspiracy against the country and the people.
It urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of the step for it was a violation of the mandate given by it to the military government, the meeting said, adding the PPP might move the apex court on the issue.
Criticizing the meeting of PML(QA) leaders with President Gen Pervez Musharraf, the committee said meetings with the people who had “looted the bakery” were rendering the accountability process dubious.
It welcomed the joining of the party by Zafar Ali Shah of Nawabshah, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani of Jacobabad, Junaid Soomro of Quetta and Sardar Buzdar and their supporters and hoped that the PPP would clean sweep in the polls provided they were held fairly and in a transparent manner. These leaders had earlier left the party to join the PPP (Shaheed Bhutto) faction.
Those who attended the meeting included Federal Council member Khalid Kharal, deputy coordinator Fakhar Zaman, Central Executive Committee member Ahmad Mukhtar, and central deputy information secretary Altaf Ahmad Qureshi.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the Punjab People’s Youth Wing held here on Friday with Muhammad Ayub in the chair finalized arrangements for “Bhutto Basant Mela” to be held on Feb 17.