The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which gave the country the 1973 Constitution and has a history of confronting dictators to uphold the rule of law, has always respected national institutions and will continue to do so, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Friday. He was addressing a large public gathering at the Neelam Valley, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
“We are accused that the PPP does not respect institutions. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave the country the 1973 Constitution, which teaches respect of institutions, be it the judiciary, parliament, media, army or civil society,” Gilani said. The PM said that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced the dictatorships of Ayub Khan and Zia-ul-Haq, while Benazir Bhutto challenged Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf and President Asif Ali Zardari confronted the dictatorship of Musharraf.
“How we can be blamed? The PPP is the party of the masses, poor, downtrodden, women and children and cannot support dictators,” Gilani said. The PM assured that the PPP will continue to strive for a peaceful solution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue and peaceful means.
Referring to resumption of Indo-Pak talks, Gilani recalled his meetings with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at Sharam El Sheikh, Colombo and Bhutan and said that he told Singh that the two countries should resume dialogue to settle all issues, including Kashmir, and utilise their resources to tackle the common challenges of poverty, hunger and inflation.
