Lahore: President of the National Party (NP) Punjab Ayub Malik said on Sunday that country is going through a critical phase during which the highly controversial and irresponsible statements of former president Pervez Musharraf are dividing the nation. Musharraf has tried to gain attention by issuing statement regarding shelved Kalabagh dam and Constitutional role of the Army, he said.
Ayub Malik said this while speaking at a function titled, “Koh-e-Suleman Martyrs Day” to pay glowing tributes to those who laid down their lives for the sake of democracy during dictatorship.
Mukhtar Bacha, President NP Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Secretary General of BSO (Pajar) Waja Zubair Baloch, central leader of NP Dr. Ashok Kumar and others were also present on the occasion. He said that martyrs of Koh-e-Suleman offered supreme sacrifice for democracy by challenging a dictator, adding that we will always give sacrifices for the democracy.
Malik said that Imran should accept his defeat and leave so that masses could lead normal lives. He asked masses th beware of fake revolutionaries and political orphans. He said that situation in Balochistan is improving as masses have realised the conspiracy to divide different ethnic groups.Now people are not kidnapped and kept in the houses of ministers in Balochistan but the influential are settling scores by assassinating workers of NP, he said.
Speaking at the occasion, veteran leader Mukhtar Backa said that Balochistan is the only province where local bodies elections have been held to empower masses. Other provinces haven’t held local bodies elections as they don’t want empowerment of masses, he added.
Dr. Ashok Kumar asked those Punjabis who left Balochistan to come back and their honour, live and property would be safeguarded as 72 gangs have been quashed.He said that deprived of all the provinces would have to join hands for struggle to get their rights in which the role of dispossessed of Punjab would be of paramount importance.