Elections in Pakistan this year, says Zardari
Pakistan Times Punjab Bureau Report

LAHORE: PPP-P leader Asif Ali Zardari Saturday reiterated that party would make 2005 as election year and Benazir Bhutto will be the Prime Minister for third time.

“Those who had launched negative propaganda on my visit to Dubai are disturbed and frustrated with my arrival,” Zardari told a meeting of the office-bearers and workers of Peoples Labour Bureau (PLB), Punjab and its affiliated organisations at Bilawal House.

He said the elections would be held this year as the rulers have failed to deliver. Only a democratic leadership could pull the country out of crisis, he added.

Zardari said he has learnt a lot in jails and analysed Pakistan’s internal and external situation. He said; "the rulers are asserting the success of their economic policies but the poverty, unemployment and inflation have registered unprecedented increase".

The poor economic conditions have compelled the poor, downtrodden and the unemployed to commit suicide and God knows who is benefiting from so-called increase in foreign exchange reserves in the country, he said.

Zardari said that his party would not tolerate any injustices with the labour community and would continue to raise its voice for their rights. He said the labourers have always played an admirable role for democracy and development of the country but the rulers have imposed some merciless laws upon them.

He pledged that PPP would abolish all such laws which go against the interests of this community, which remains to be the backbone of every country. He asked the labourers to come forward to play their role in the struggle for saving the country and restoration of democracy.

Zardari has made it clear that party has no room for those who left the party leadership and workers in lurch at hard times and abandoned them for the greed of ministries.

Addressing party workers and office-bearers from Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Rahimyar Khan, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin and Gujrat at Bilawal House, Zardari said “We don’t want to bring the people to the streets and create law and order situation but we would pursue our struggle through constitutional and democratic means under the leadership of Benazir Bhutto”.

He said all the workers and leaders of the PPP will strive hard to make the party more strong and to accomplish the mission of Shaheed Bhutto.

Zardari said he would go to every district in Punjab and would contact the people and workers directly as the PPP belonged to the poor, the downtrodden, peasants and labourers.

Every worker who is silence for some reasons will be mobilised and taken along in the struggle for the restoration of true democracy, he added.

Zardari said that it was the PPP which sowed the seed of democracy in Pakistan and it would again be the PPP which will make democracy stronger in the country.

Earlier, the party office-bearers paid tributes to Asif Zardari "for braving eleven years in jails and facing boldly all the injustices inflicted by the undemocratic regimes".

Zardari received rousing welcome when he arrived to address them. PPP Punjab President Qasim Zia, Shah Mehmood Qureshi MNA, Rana Aftab Ahmed Khan, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Ch Zaka Ashraf, Mian Mumtaz Matiana, Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, Riaz Ahmed Dahar also spoke on the occasion.

workers from Karachi and other parts of the province and he assured that that the people of Sindh would continue to struggle for the restoration of democracy and national integrity despite getting harsh treatment at the Punjab government.

“We consider Punjab government as unrepresentative and autocratic whose policies are not supported by the Punjabis,” they added.●