ISLAMABAD – The maiden meeting of the manifesto committee of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) decided to make the party’s politico-economic policy and a separate Siraiki province as the cornerstone of the party’s manifesto for the upcoming general elections.
A source told Pakistan Today on Friday that the recently-formed committee decided to form sub-committees on each subject, including the proposal of formation of a Siraiki province. He said the sub-committees would be formed within the next few days.
“MNA Fauzia Habib has been given the responsibility to coordinate with all members of the committee. She also provided copies of all the manifestos prepared by the party since its launch,” the source said, adding that technical discussions continued on the functioning of the committee with PPP Co-chairman President Asif Ali Zardari during a meeting at the Presidency.
During the meeting, Zardari said the manifesto of a dynamic political party like the PPP should be a living and vibrant document that responded to the aspirations of the people on the one hand, and broke new ground to lead the people towards a glorious future on the other.
Fauzia Habib Babar Awan, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Jahangir Badr, Waqar Ahmad Khan, Maula Bukhsh Chandio, Sardar Ali Khan, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Sherry Rehman, Taj Haider, Hidayatullah Pirzada, Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, Ghulam Nabi, Rukhsana Bangash, Prof Ijaz Hassan and Farhatullah Babar were also present.
Briefing reporters, president’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the president called for a detailed report on what was promised in the 2008 election manifesto and to what extent those promises had been fulfilled in the last three years. He said it was time to take stock of the performance in the light of the promises made.
Zardari said while it was important to give a clear cut direction to the nation on what the party intended to achieve in a given timeframe, it was no less important to introspect and evaluate the performance in the face of promises made. The PPP co-chairman tasked the committee with preparing a comparative statement showing the performance versus promises, Babar said.
“Thereafter, the committee should identify the promises made in the 2008 manifesto yet to be fulfilled, cite the reasons for not fulfilling the promises and recommend strategy to implement the unfulfilled pledges”, the president said.
“Learn from the mistakes of the past, prepare for the present and gear up to face the future with courage and determination,” the president advised the committee while explaining them the essentials of the new manifesto.
