President Zardari will visit Lahore ‘to rejuvenate PPP’

President Asif Ali Zardari is arriving in Lahore on Sept 8, the day his term in presidency ends, in a bid to ‘rejuvenate’ the Pakistan Peoples Party in Punjab. The PPP Punjab executive committee on Thursday passed a resolution, commending President Zardari for completing his five-year term despite various challenges. It also praised him for ‘promoting the politics of tolerance and reconciliation and strengthening democracy in the country’. PPP leaders Manzoor Wattoo, Raja Riaz, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Chaudhry Manzoor, Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, Shaukat Basra, Aslam Gill, Raja Amer, Omar Sharif Bokhari, Beelam Hasnain and Faiza Malik were present in the meeting held here at the Model Town residence of Mr Wattoo. The resolution said the PPP would be more active when Mr Zardari would be free to look after its affairs. Raja Riaz said on the occasion the party would get a new lease of life, especially in Punjab, when Mr Zardari would be among the PPP workers. He said the party needed overhauling and angry workers should be wooed. Wattoo said Mr Zardari during his visit would meet the party workers and reorganise the PPP. The meeting passed another resolution condemning the flaws in the Local Government Bill 2013. “The party has requested PPP Secretary General Sardar Latif Khosa to challenge the bill in the court,” Wattoo told reporters after the meeting. He said the party was more concerned about the holding of local body polls on non-party basis which, he said, was against the spirit of devolution of power. “The bill which empowers the chief minister to sack the chairman of a union council is also unfair. Besides, the government under the constitution cannot undertake the process of delimitation as the power rested with the Election Commission of Pakistan,” he said. Replying to a question about denial of some Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders that their party would not go for an alliance with the PPP in the forthcoming local body elections, Wattoo said there could be cooperation between the two parties with regard to ‘seat adjustment’. Shaukat Basra said the PML-N government had disappointed the masses by allowing price hike, inflation and increase in electricity, fuel and gas prices. “People were expecting relief from the PML-N government but it had extremely disappointed them during its 100 days in power,” he said. Wattoo demanded the government should withdraw the increase in electricity tariff forthwith.