LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Saturday formed a two-member administrative committee to finalise arrangements for the multi-party meeting (protest) being convened on January 17 over the Model Town tragedy.
PPP Central Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira approved the names of PPP Lahore President Azizur Rehman Chan and Punjab Finance Secretary Asim Bhatti for the important meeting. Both these leaders would represent PPP in organising a multi-party committee. Representatives of all allied parties would also be a part of the organising committee.
Kaira said that PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari would address the historic multi-party meeting on January 17, while adding that hundreds of thousands of die-hard workers would show their participation. They would also be carrying PPP flags, he said.
The multi-parties steering committee had moved an application, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today, to Lahore commissioner to allow them to hold the protest rally on Mall Road. The application was signed by representatives of all allied parties.
PPP Punjab Secretary General Chaudhry Manzoor said that PPP would fully participate in the protest rally being organised by Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri. “Participation of PPP in the multi-parties’ protest rally would not harm democracy at all, but we would go to any extent in support of PAT”.
He said that the Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah should resign forthwith, since the Kasur incident and the Model Town tragedy cases have failed to awaken the conscience of Shehbaz Sharif. He held Shehbaz personally responsible for the Model Town tragedy and the Kasur incident.
He further said, “If Shehbaz Sharif remains Punjab chief minister, all of Punjab would become a mirror image of Kasur and Model Town.”
On December 17, Asif Zardari had joined hands with Qadri and endorsed his demand for the resignation of Shehbaz Sharif for his alleged role in the Model Town tragedy which resulted in the deaths of 14 people while more than 100 were reported injured. “Enough is enough… Shehbaz has to resign and appear before the court,” Zardari had said during a joint press conference after holding a detailed meeting with Qadri in Lahore.
Meanwhile, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had appointed renowned poet Dr Khalid Javed Jan as Secretary General of PPP Punjab Cultural Wing. A notification in this regard had also been issued.
