Election in tribal districts: Opp parties’ candidates being harassed: Bilawal

PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said that the candidates of opposition parties were being harassed in the merged districts while those of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) were running election campaign with the backing of the administration.

Speaking at the Meet-the-Press Programme at the Peshawar Press Club on Friday, he said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) should not have allowed the deployment of military personnel inside polling stations, adding it would earn a bad name for the Pakistan Army.

Former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, Senator Khanzada Khan, PPP provincial President Humayun Khan, former provincial minister Rahimdad Khan, former MNAs and MPAs, representatives of the women wing, People’s Students Federation and People’s Youth Organisations were present on the occasion.

Bilawal Bhutto was critical of this decision of the PTI government, saying military dictators General Ziaul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf had not dared deploy army at the polling stations.

He expressed the hope that the ECP would withdraw the decision, or else his party would move the court of law against it.

Responding to a question, he said the opposition parties were united on the issue of removal of Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani.

He said the opposition parties would bring their joint candidate for the post of the chairman Senate. “It was the PPP’s proposal which was accepted by the opposition parties during the recently held Multi Parties Conference,” he said.

In reply to a question, he said the journalists should not believe in rumours being circulated by the government circles about differences in the ranks of the opposition parties over removal of the chairman Senate. He said efforts were underway to nominate the consensus candidate for the office of chairman Senate.

Bilawal Bhutto said that promoting and strengthening democracy and democratic norms was a panacea to all the ills that the country was facing. He reminded that the PPP had rendered matchless sacrifices since its inception and it never bowed to any pressure from dictators.

The PPP head said that despite lacking majority his party restored the Constitution of 1973 and gave the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award to strengthen the federation and give maximum relief to the people.

“Now the 18th Constitutional Amendment is under attack from all fronts, particularly the ‘selected’ prime minister,” he pointed out. He added that the PPP would defend the 1973 Constitution and 18th Amendment and would not compromise on the issues of political rights and military courts.

He said currently the PPP was running a mass mobilisation campaign and visits would be undertaken to all nooks and corners of the country to expose the ‘puppet’ government and motivate the youth.

He recalled that his party’s efforts for promotion and continuation of democratic process, struggle for achieving rights of people and elimination of poverty would continue.

Bilawal Bhutto, who is in Peshawar on a week-long visit to organise the PPP at district and divisional level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, contended that political issues that were thoroughly debated contributed to strengthening of democracy.

He demanded the announcement of new NFC Award for better and judicious utilisation of resources among the federating units.

The PPP chairman reiterated his party’s opposition to the IMF-dictated federal budget. He said the PPP would continue its struggle for human rights at every forum.

Meanwhile, dissident PPP activists staged protest outside the Peshawar Press Club, urging the party chairman to remove the provincial office-bearers of the party including the provincial President Humayun Khan.

The activists carrying banners chanted slogans against the provincial president and vowed to render every sacrifice for the party. However, they said the incumbent party office-bearers were not acceptable to them.

They claimed that senior party leaders and ideological workers were being sidelined, warning that dictatorial policies would ruin the party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.