Gilani to Sindh nationalists: Come to assemblies if you have differences over SPLGO

PPP holds rally in Hyderabad, Gilani says his party has managed to change the Constitution with consensus.

HYDERABAD: Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, addressing a rally in Hyderabad on Monday, appealed to the Sindh nationalist parties that if they have any differences over the Sindh Peoples Local Government Ordinance (SPLGO), then they should come to the assemblies “rather than using bullets”.

Boasting about his party’s achievements while in power, Gilani said that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has managed to amend 104 articles in the Constitution with total consensus. “We have changed the Constitution and there was no opposition to it. This is our achievement.”

He said that the PPP is trying to strengthen the people by bringing in new bills. “If these bills had been brought earlier, then you would be having East Pakistan with you right now.”

Commenting on the recent survey which revealed that PPP’s popularity was going down, Gilani said that the “hundreds of thousands of people” present at the rally today were proof of PPP’s popularity.

“When BB [Benazir Bhutto] was murdered, Pakistan’s federation weakened and the country was about to break. But [President Asif Ali] Zardari strengthened the federation and helped in bringing Pakistan together,” he said while paying tribute to the president.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, in his earlier rallies, had termed the ruling government as “Ali Baba and the 40 thieves”. In reply to the statements, Gilani said that the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) is not aware of who Ali Baba actually was.

“Ali Baba was an honest man and he had captured 40 thieves. They do not know who he was.”