PPP is committed to hold fair and free election:Saleem Bhatti

Bahawalpur: Muhammad Saleem Bhatti Secretary information PPP District Bahawalpur said on Tuesday that PPP is committed to hold free, fair, independent and impartial election on time and there in no reason to delay. Addressing a party workers meeting at his residence he said in the presence of free media, independent judiciary, active political parties and vibrant civil society nobody could even think of delaying elections. The PPP being a political force believed in continuation of political process and would never delay elections, he added.

By elections can not be termed as judgment of people for political parties as local issues and development projects remain focus of attention while during general election national issues are the focus. He said that the PPP had won the seats vacated by PML-N candidates in bye-elections in recent past, which included constituencies in Gujranwala, Multan and Vehari.

Bhatti said that when the PPP came to power in 2008, Pakistan as a state was facing serious challenges and terrorists were in control of Swat and FATA and the international community feared fall of Islamabad to so-called Taliban.“The PPP-led government defeated the enemies of the country with the support of the masses and armed forces. Though the war was still not over but the back of the terrorist organizations has been broken and only their splinter groups are active now.” In 2008 there was complete mistrust among the units of the federation and the provinces were not ready to sit with the federation in National Finance Commission Award.

The PPP not only paid amounts to clear outstanding dues of Khyber Pakhtunkhaw and Balochistan and a new NFC Award was finalized. Bhatti said that the PPP government had always tried to bring structural changes in the system as the dictators in the past had changed Pakistan from a federation to centrist state with President enjoying all powers. He said the present government has empowered the provinces through the new NFC award and 70 per cent of the national resources have been shifted to the provinces, he said.

He said that incumbent political President was taking concrete steps to strengthen democracy in the country rather than hatching conspiracies. He said “in the past presidency was the hub of conspiracies against democracy and elected governments twice, and Farooq Leghari also sent home an elected government. “The democracy would were sent home to settle personal scores.” Bhatti said that Ziaul Haq had dissolved the National Assembly, while Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the assembly have been derailed, if the Memo scandal and former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani disqualification issue were not settled with sagacity”, he said.He said that the past presidents had misused the powers for their vested interests against the democratic norms. Irshad Ahmad Saroya additional general secretary district Bwp, Asghar Ali Gill, Aslam channar, Abdul Rehman Babar, Rana Farooque, Samee Shaheen, Saleem Shahzad,Ahmad Faraz, Abdulghaffar chauhdary were prominent at the occasion