HYDERABAD, July 3: People’s Party Parliamentarians MNA Naheed Khan has said that the division of districts and talukas on political and ethnic basis and large-scale transfers of senior officers are aimed at dividing PPP votes in local body elections.

She said despite pre-poll rigging and harassment of party leaders, the PPP would take full part in the elections and would not leave the ground open for government candidates.

She was speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Sunday

Senator Safdar Abbasi, MNA Shagufta Jumani, MPA Nuzhat Pathan and MPA Zahid Bhurgari were present on the occasion.

Naheed Khan alleged Sindh’s coalition government had unleashed harassment against party leaders and called upon the Pakistan Election Commission to take notice of the harassment and transfers of senior officers in Sindh.

She said MPA Farheen Mughal and MPA Shamim Aara Panhwar had been threatened with dire consequences by special assistant to the Sindh chief minister, Mr Badar Channa, if they did not change their loyalties.

The PPP leader said if any harm came to Farheen and Shamim or their families, Badar Channa and the Sindh chief minister would be held responsible.

She said the local body elections would not be fair, impartial and transparent even if they were held under the supervision of the army.

She demanded that the HRCP should be involved to observe local body elections.

She said even if international observers were allowed to monitor the elections, it would not serve the purpose of transparent elections because they would hardly visit a few polling stations.

She said the foreign observers should be allowed to meet political parties to find out the whole truth.

She said the PPP had held talks with the government on the agenda of the supremacy of parliament and Constitution and the restoration of democracy.

She said it was only recently that the government had indicated that the talks should continue minus party chairperson Benazir Bhutto.

Ms Khan said Benazir Bhutto was party’s Quaid and any dialogue without her was simply out of the question.

She said Benazir Bhutto would return to Pakistan at an appropriate time and lead the nation as prime minister.

“Ms Bhutto enjoys a mandate from the masses and she does not need any mandate from the general”, she said.

She said the poor people could not arrange two square meals for their children and for that reason they were not only committing suicides but also killing their own children.

She criticized an inordinate delay in announcement of the NFC award and said due to the delay the government had pitted provinces against each another.

She said the water distribution dispute had attained alarming proportions and instead of building small dams, the government was insisting construction of controversial Kalabagh Dam.

She said no dam should be constructed without the consent of small provinces and consensus of the federating units.

She said the law and order situation had deteriorated to such an extent that bomb blasts were taking place near the prime minister’s house.

She said no one was safe in the country and the people were being killed like birds even in the federal capital.

She said the PPP was the largest party of the country and despite massive rigging in general elections, it had captured 81 seats in the National Assembly.

She said the ISI was directly involved in horse trading at the time of formation of the government.

Senator Safdar Abbasi said the PPP had created jobs and solved problems of the people and that was the reason that even 38 years after its inception it enjoyed people’s support.

Condemning the ordeal of MPA Zahid Bhurgari, the PPP lagislator demanded that false cases against local party leaders who had staged protest demonstrations against Mr Bhurgari’s arrest should be withdrawn.

About the Swiss case, Senator Abbasi said it was absolutely wrong to assume that the Swiss magistrate had personally taken cognisance of the case.

He said it was done on the application of the Pakistan government and the government had hired eight lawyers each of whom had been paid 10,000 pound sterling.

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