Feeling marginalised: Disgruntled workers of PPP demand intra-party polls

Say the party’s provincial chapter has been taken over by corrupt people.

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) disgruntled workers have reiterated their demand for intra-party polls to revive the party.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday at the Peshawar Press Club, the party’s ‘ideological faction’ leaders including Tariq Khattak, Abdul Akbar Khan, Ayub Shah, Mian Muzaffar Shah, Azam Afridi and others maintained they wanted to revamp the party.

They added Khattak was made the convener for the ideological workers’ faction for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at a meeting which took place at the residence of senior leader Mian Muzaffar Shah on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Khattak maintained PPP has forgotten the manifesto of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto whose ideals were represented by the ideological workers.

Khattak said he has resigned as the divisional president of the party as he could not work with corrupt people, which is also why he took over as the convener of the ideological faction. He added as the convener, he will pay a visit to every district and appoint ideological workers’ conveners in all districts.

Khattak said they wanted intra-party polls so that genuine workers could come forward and reinvigorate the party. He added earlier in November, they met the party’s co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari in Lahore. Zardari reportedly promised intra-party polls in the province and formed a committee headed by Senator Farhatullah Babar and Aurganzeb Burki.

Also speaking on the occasion, senior party leader Abdul Akbar Khan said workers did not trust the party’s incumbent provincial setup. He said the party leadership should remove these people and induct credible people in PPP’s provincial chapter.

Syed Ayub Shah said there should be democracy in the party for the cause of democracy in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2015.