KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the parliament was elected by sovereign people of Pakistan and the voice of the masses had every right to make laws and it would continue legislating on all issues of public concern and welfare of the people.

Addressing a gathering comprising of the ministers, senators, MNAs, MPAs and divisional and district office bearers of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), organised by the PPP Sindh at Chief Minister's House Thursday, he said that it was the duty of everyone to accord the parliament every respect it was entitled to having been elected by the sovereign people of Pakistan.

The president said that being the real representatives of the people, the parliament reigned supreme in the democratic setup.

He said that the president was part of the parliament under the constitution and he interacts and meets the parliamentarians as parliaments were his constituency. He said that no law bars the president meeting with his constituents.

The president said that for the stability and smoothness of the system, it was necessary that every state institution respected the mandate of other institutions. He said that in the developing democracies on their way toward maturity, some institutions may at time appear to be overstepping their mandate but this is the part of the evolutionary process and should not be the matter of concern.

The president said that the PPP has pursued politics of reconciliation and has always been taking along other political forces with it. He said that all the political forces in Sindh were with the PPP.

He said that PPP was not new to the conspiracies of anti-democratic forces and was fighting this for last four decades.

The president said that the detractors of the party were employing every trick to alienate the workers but they can not change the hearts of PPP workers and “Jiyalas.”

“I have lived in all those cells where Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was confined. I have seen him in my childhood and I still remember all of his speeches and whatever conspiracies were hatched against him,” said Zardari.

He said that the conspiracies that were hatched against Bhutto are being hatched against him.

The president said that Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah has invited him to address the PPP leadership in Sindh, adding that those who wanted to restrict political forces will not succeed.

The president also advised the ministers, legislators and office bearers of PPP to maintain contact with the people and help addressing their issues.

Referring to law and order situation in Karachi, the president underscored the need for equipping the law enforcing authorities and the police with modern tools to fight criminal in an effective manner.

The president said that Karachi being the hub of the economic activities of the country was also suffering because of the fast changing situations at international level.

He said that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would also be addressing the party workers on appropriate occasions.