Pakistan

PPP leadership: Accused of appeasing religious right

PML-Q says PPP instead of moving a joint resolution condemning the retrogressive mindset, bowed to it.

Rauf Klasra January 20, 2011

ISLAMABAD: Leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) are said to have ridiculed the current leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and accused it of abandoning its original “moderate and progressive role,”sources said.

During a meeting of delegations of the two parties on Wednesday to discuss pressing economic issues, PML-Q leaders said that the PPP instead of moving a joint resolution condemning the retrogressive mindset, bowed before them and withdrew it altogether.

PML-Q leaders are also said to have made sarcastic remarks about doing away with PPP’s original ideology “to appease the religious right”.

One PML-Q leader said the party had transformed to such an extent that “one cannot differentiate between policies adopted by the Ziaul Haq regime and the present PPP government.”

They also expressed chagrin at a statement attributed to the federal interior minister, Rehman Malik, according to which he had said that he would “kill anyone who was found to be involved in blasphemy”.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2011.

COMMENTS (19)

Mirza Naseer Ahmad | 13 years ago | Reply Just Analyze how many of our leaders have been affiliated as students with Jami-at or later with some Religious Party later on. This will answer your doubts about the present leadership.

frizz | 13 years ago | Reply ppp cant go against the will of over 90 percent pakistanis. change will take place but with the passage of time, they cant take action against mullas coz mullah thought is everywhere, in every field of pak. its tough to eliminate this factor from society.

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Burger Boy | 13 years ago | Reply Who is "they"? Usually reporters quote their sources..thats just how journalism works. If the PML-Q and PPP delegates met and some of them passed such remarks, firstly, its not news....secondly, if you wish to report it as news, you could have named the people who made those comments in front of an audience..so the cat is already out of the bag...why the secrecy? I find ET to be stretching its journalistic integrity in order to serve an ulterior agenda. One can judge from the comments on the forum that the story is a sensational one to some extent, so responsible journalism would require that the more sensational a story, the higher the burden of proof. Particularly considering the subject is a very hot and controversial one and stories like this only serve to add a little more fuel to the fire.

Farooq Khan | 13 years ago | Reply This is not PPP. Leader of the house and opposition were members of Zia's cabinet. president PM and Ch Nisar took part in 1985 part less elections defying the stance taken by MRD. What do you expect from them. Original PPP? That won the 70 elections in the name of socialism and went on to create religious affairs ministry, banned alchohal, friday closed holiday. But abandoning salman taaseer is shameful. Conduct unbecoming, or as expected?

osman | 13 years ago | Reply well this is nothing new in the history of PPP's politics. starting from Z.A. Bhutto's decision to declare Ahmedis 'non-muslims', banning alcohol and gambling, the policy was further continued when under Benazir's govt the Taliban govt was recognized and actively supported, along with the connivance of the interior minister (late) naseerullah babar. actually, come to think of it, no government in pakistan has ever prevented the religious right from gaining power and have always used its capacity for mobilization in order to strengthen themselves

maitre | 13 years ago | Reply The same Rehman malik advised Ms Sherry Rehman to flee from the country under growing threat to her life. PPP are all exposed, they are even more hypocrats than the previous PPP rulers. They can't deliver and none of the present politicians can lead the country with sagacity.0

Sohail | 13 years ago | Reply PPP leadership has done exactly what it's founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, did when faced with a choice between principle and expediency. (ref: 1971, 1973, 1974, 1977) Upholding 'principles' is only the content of speeches, it is not to be construed as any basis for action. ZAB proved it with his actions and apart from a few of his naive and sincere followers, none of his heirs to office can be accused of actually sticking to their avowed principles. Be it Taseer or Sheri Rehman, Miraj Mohammad Khan or Dr. Mubashir anyone guilty of sticking to ideological principles is always dropped like a hot potato, sacrifices at the alter of 'compromise' (read: shameless abandonment of principles for the sake of political expediency)

YLH | 13 years ago | Reply PML-Q has never made any bones about its centre-right agenda. It is therefore on the money asking PPP to stick by its centre-left agenda. Well done I say... and I am a PPP voter who is extremely upset by PPP's stance.

Ercelan | 13 years ago | Reply coal calling the kettle black!

tariq | 13 years ago | Reply what can one expect from the bunch of completely incompetent, corrupt, and power hungry lot that currently heads the PPP? the final slap in the face to Salman Taseer and to most rational Pakistanis has not come from the mullah brigade, rather it has come from Taseer's own party. shame on them.

skyman | 13 years ago | Reply you can not expect any thing better than such conduct from a party spearheaded by Baber awan and Rehman Malik.One is rightist from the core of his heart while the other is unedcuated

Peria Jawaid | 13 years ago | Reply HOLY cow, good turn around against the Government and the so called holy hypocritic Mullahs of our country. In this country and even some other countries God's name is used in the most violent and murderous ways. God did not instruct such acts in anyway, in any religion. All these acts are done, the mullahs, do for their own personal agenda. Down with mullahs. PML-Q ........ right action at the right time....I am supporter of Bhutto and PPP but I am really ashamed with this Government, though I know very well...Zardari is not Bhutto and never will be.

Ali Hasan | 13 years ago | Reply While I do not support the PML-Q, they are completely correct in their analysis. The PPP has shown nothing but cowardice and bowed to everybody's demands just so they may preserve their own power base.

Dreamer | 13 years ago | Reply Wow. Of all the parties, I certainly did not expect PML-Q to say something so bold. Bravo! I can only hope there is no retraction of this news item. :)

Babruk | 13 years ago | Reply good job! at least someone is criticizing the government for its cowardice. it is like a fresh air to see someone taking notice of the increasing mullah clout in Pakistan.

feroze | 13 years ago | Reply Benazir must be spinning in her grave. Shame on the PPP for capitulating the way they have to the Mullah brigade. Poor ST took a stand and got killed for it because of the way his party appeased the fanatics and then to have Rehman Malik issue the kind of statement he did is even more pathetic. We were so much better of under Mush. At least there was a semblance of governance!!

faiq ahmed | 13 years ago | Reply The tv channels' failure to hold the ppp to account in abandoning their governor & sherry rehman is most distressing.They don't waste a chance to discuss any corruption allegations but fail to question the ppp representatives about their pathetic appeasement of the religous fanatics in order to save their govt. The ppp should realise that appeasement didn't save ZAB & appeasement won't save the current ppp lot as the fanatics are taking this shameful ppp surrender as an indicator of ppp's weakness & cowardice.

fazal akram | 13 years ago | Reply The ppp abandoned their own governor & they threw him before the wolves.He stood up bravely to the religous barbarians with determination but the ppl shamefully disowned him,babar awan,khurshid shah & the PM himself did all they could to appease the religous barbarians. The law minister has been at the front of turning the a self proclaimed liberal party into a party of bigoted,homophobic,misogynistic cavemen who are hell bent on taking this country back to the dark ages. the way ppp has distanced itself from sherry rahman & salman taseer is extremely disheartening for any sane & rational pakistani.ppp's cowardice in facing upto the religous savages has ensured that this country goes from bad to worse.The apologetic,grovelling behaviour of ppp towards the religous barbarians has only encouraged those savages to further propogate their ideology of religous hate,misogyny,homophobia & intolerance.

MAD | 13 years ago | Reply Well they did try to shift the blame of the salman taseer murder on the Punjab government and claimed it to be a politically motivated rather than religiously motivated killing. also barring Bilawal Zardari no ther PPP representative chose to openly refer to the blasphemy issue. I suppose one must give credit to Imran Khan and Chaudhry Shujaat as they did express views similar to those of the late governor (although somewhat more tactfully).

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