LAHORE:
Two days ahead of a public gathering organised by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Karachi, many party workers and supporters in the Punjab have complained that they are unaware of the logistical arrangements.
A PPP leader told The Express Tribune that party workers asked to gather people for the meeting complained that they themselves were unaware of the arrangements. He said the PPP was divided in the Punjab between Lahore PPP and Punjab PPP. He said their leadership was not on the same page which is why it was unclear as to how workers would be taken to the October 18 procession.
A senior PPP member from Lahore said while co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was in Lahore, party leaders showed him a “rosy image” of the state of PPP in the Punjab. “This is why several differences of opinion within the party were not discussed or resolved.” He said even members of the PPP’s Minority Wing were not given time to meet Zardari.
“Most party workers do not have a lot of funds at their disposal and many have backed off from going to Karachi for the procession simply because of lack of arrangements,” he said.
PPP Punjab president Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, however, denied the allegation that the leaderships of Punjab PPP and Lahore PPP were at loggerheads.
Speaking to media people at the PPP’s Punjab secretariat, he said the PPP had arranged for two trains to transport workers from the Punjab to Karachi. He said 12 buses will depart from Rawalpindi and will take PPP workers from each district to Karachi.
He said as many as 25,000 PPP workers and supporters would participate in the rally on October 18 that would be addressed by its chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Wattoo said the PPP stood in opposition to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz because both parties were extremely right-wing and only represented the upper and upper-middle classes. “The PPP will contest elections against both parties,” he said.
He said Zardari’s two-week visit to the Punjab had infused vitality in the party ranks. He said Zardari had met with party leaders and workers from the seven divisions of central Punjab.
He said Zardari had also conveyed his appreciation to leaders of the PPP Punjab and others who made his tour a success.
Wattoo said workers were excited about Zardari’s plan to devise a system that would enable all party workers, down to the union council level, to directly interact with the PPP co-chairman via internet.
He said chairman Bilawal Bhutto and Zardari had announced their intention to visit the Punjab soon again to oversee a re-organisation of the party. He said he too, was focused on the party’s organisational aspects and intended to complete his part of the job in two months. “Once the PPP is organised at every tier, no political force will be able to defeat it,” he said.
Responding to a question, Wattoo said that he did not think the present provincial government was planning to hold local government elections simply because they did not want to empower people or devolve power.
He said the PPP would win the local bodies elections if they happened. “PPP is prepared to contest the local bodies elections at any time... the results would surprise many in the current government.”
He said the PPP’s mandate suffered in the 2013 general elections because of rigging by returning officers.
Punjab PPP general secretary Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, Deewan Mohyuddin, Allama Yousuf Awan, senior vice president Sohail Malik, Manzoor Maneka, Mian Waheed, Afnan Butt and Abid Siddiqui were also present at the press conference.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2014.
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If the PPP is ready to contect local bodies elections anytime then how come there are no local bodies election in Sindh? This double speak and political bankruptness of 65 years needs to be retired.