The core committee of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) decided on Wednesday to gear up efforts and create new issues to shift the media focus from the memo controversy onto the creation of new provinces, especially the creation of a Saraiki Province, to capture the party’s vote bank in Southern Punjab and lessen the impact created by recent campaigning by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leaders Imran Khan and Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
A source told Pakistan Today that the meeting, which was held at Prime Minister’s House and was attended by the party’s Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for the first time, was of the view that the recent happenings on the political landscape had badly harmed the image of the party in particular and the government in general and there was a dire need to defuse the situation through proper media handling. “The meeting tasked Qamar Zaman Kaira, Dr Babar Awan and Jahangir Badar to counter the negative media criticism while Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has been asked to play his part in again raising the Saraiki Province issue to muster public support and shift the media focus away from the memo controversy and the precarious health condition of President Asif Ali Zardari,” said the source.
The source said the meeting also discussed the pressure tactics used by the establishment vis-à-vis the memogate scandal and Prime Minister Gilani was asked to play his role in defusing the situation between the civilian government and the security establishment.The source said that participants expressed their concern that the ailment of the president had further weakened the government and it was necessary for the prime minister to ensure that the government machinery looked effective and functional. The source said the meeting also expressed concern that the delay in the presidential address to the joint sitting of the parliament would be a setback for the party that had caused the media to speculate whether the establishment had warned him not to do so.
PPP looks to shift media focus from memo controversy
