Zardari asks Punjab chapter president Wattoo to reorganise party

PPP co-chairman wants party to be reorganised at union council levels at the earliest

ISLAMABAD: Amid growing disenchantment among its ranks, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday asked the Punjab chapter of the party to reorganise.

“I ask the provincial president to maintain close liaison with the party workers in every nook and corner of the province and use the occasion of district wise conventions to explain to the workers party policies, listen to their views and address their grievances”, Zardari said in directives issued to PPP Punjab chief Mian Manzoor Wattoo.

Spokesperson to Zardari, Senator Farhatullah Babar said in a statement that the former president was keen to revitalise the party at the grass root levels throughout the country. Further, they will hold worker conventions at district levels in Punjab as a first step in reorganisation of the party. Later, district level conventions will also be held in other provinces.

Zardari also directed Watto to complete all party reorganisations at the level of union councils as soon as possible.

PPP, once the most popular party with its roots across the country, is now in a state of disarray after remaining five years in power at the centre owing to poor performance and severe allegations of corruption. The resurgence of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the meteoric rise of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has not helped PPP's cause either with the party being routed in Punjab in the May 2013 elections.

The party is also facing internal wrangling in Sindh, the party’s traditional stronghold and the only province where it still has a government.

Despite being the second largest party in terms of seats in the national assembly, it has so far acted as a friendly opposition to the incumbent PML-N, despite holding key slots including the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and the Senate.

There were also reports of differences between co-chairperson Zardari and chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as the latter sought to revamp the party.

As a result, party failed to host a marquee event to observe the assassination anniversary of former premier Benazir Bhutto on December 27 .

Zardari, however, has announced plans to hold worker conventions in Faisalabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa soon.

“The former president said that holding of conventions at district level was a consensus demand of the workers that emerged on the eve of the party’s founding day convention held in Lahore recently and called for its full implementation in letter and spirit” Babar said in the statement.

“He also call upon the workers to participate in these district level conventions and, in keeping with the traditions of the party, express their views candidly on all issues be that of local or national importance or about organisational matters”, he quoted former president as saying.

Zardari also sought periodic reports on these conventions.