LARKANA: Pakistan Peoples Party Sindh president Nisar Ahmed Khuhro has said that PPP will oppose tooth and nail government’s move to push the country towards presidential rule as it runs counter to the Constitution.

Mr Khuhro said at a seminar on ‘requirement of justice and defined role of institutions’ held at Begum Nusrat Bhutto Memorial Library here on Wednesday that only parliamentary system was the most suitable for the country.

The present government wanted to impose One Unit and roll back the 18th Amendment but PPP would not allow it, he said.

Retired Gen Pervez Musharraf who had trampled upon the Constitution was allowed to leave the country but Prime Minister Imran Khan did not mention his name nor any member of his cabinet, who were wont to issue incendiary statements against the opposition, ever talked about the general, he said.

He said that PPP had increased provinces’ share in National Finance Commission award to 57 per cent and gave the rest of 43 per cent to Centre through 18th Amendment, which had thus strengthened provinces. It was the reason that federal government was feeling uneasy about this amendment, he said.

He said that present rulers should learn from the past and the very recent past as yesterday’s Pharaohs were now admitting that they could neither smile nor weep in jail.

He criticised the federal government for turning a deaf ear towards PPP’s advice to raise aid amount and scope of Benazir Income Support Programme.

Former Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah said that neither Zulfikar Ali Bhutto nor his daughter Benazir Bhutto was allowed to rule.

Even today, conspiracies were being hatched against PPP but the party would survive this trauma as well like all crisis of the past.

Waqar Mehdi, general secretary Sindh PPP, said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had been raised against PPP and propelled to power because “they (unnamed forces) are afraid of PPP”.

Syed Nasir Shah, Sindh minister for works and services, termed JIT’s findings ‘propaganda’ against PPP leadership and said the claims were ‘unfounded’. If they (JIT members) had any proof they should make it public, he added.

He said the JIT’s report was incorrect and PPP’s legal team would reply to it in court. He wondered why PPP was being held responsible for transactions made through fake bank accounts.

Aajiz Dhamra, information secretary of Sindh PPP, said that honourable state institutions should work within the limits set for them by the Constitution and they should not interfere in politics.

The PPP would protest if rights of the provinces in NFC award were trampled upon, he said.

Senator Sassui, MNA Khur­sheed Junejo, Lal Chand Ukrani and other leaders reposed trust in the PPP’s capability to cope with present crisis and criticised Centre for targeting Sindh under different excuses.

The seminar adopted a number of resolutions, dem­an­ding the government to form a parliamentary accoun­t­ability committee tasked with carrying out accountability in a transparent manner.

All institutions should work within their constitutional limits and those who were entrusted to interpret the Constitution should define their limits.

The court had the right to interpret while the government had authority to frame policies and implement them, said a resolution.

Another resolution said that PPP believed that only parliamentary system could resolve the country’s problems and the party would oppose all moves to push the country towards presidential form of government, imposition of One Unit or rollback of the 18th Amendment.

A resolution called for bringing back Gen Mushar­raf through Interpol, arresting suspects involved in Benazir Bhutto’s murder and cancelling bails of the police officers who played a suspicious role.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2018