KARACHI:
The National Party on Wednesday rubbished allegations against its former leader Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo of accepting money from intelligence agencies in the run-up to the 1990 elections.
A popular anchor of a private news channel had earlier accused Bizenjo, who died of cancer a year before the polls, of taking money distributed by intelligence agencies in a bid to influence the election results.
“It is a media trial against our party and its leadership. Bizenjo died of cancer on August 1, 1989, a year before the pre-poll rigging campaign,” NP’s senior vice president and son of the late Ghaus Bakhsh Bijenjo, Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo said during a press conference at the Karachi Press Club.
Khan said his party had secured two seats in the National Assembly and six seats in the Balochistan Assembly during the 1990 general elections. “Our party was called the Pakistan National Party (PNP) at the time. We were not part of any coalition.”
Only two parties, the Jamhoori Watan Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz were part of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad, the alliance which allegedly received cash handouts, according to Khan.
Other senior leaders of the party such as BM Kutti also censured the television anchor for making the allegation.
“How can he (anchor) claim that Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo was the same person? There are thousands of Bizenjos in Pakistan. Go and confirm your facts before you start levelling allegations,” said a visibly vexed Kutti.
He also demanded that the news channel clear its position, adding that the party would take legal action otherwise. “The PNP was not involved in any conspiracy. The allegations are baseless.”
Flaying the army and the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party for not taking concrete steps to bring the perpetrators to justice, Kutti said: “It is the first time army generals are under pressure. PPP should show courage and arrest those involved in the case.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 25th, 2012.
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Who is the media Anchor? Why the report doesn't mention the name?