Bilawal tells party leaders to prepare for election
10 February, 2013
LAHORE: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday called upon Pakistan People's Party (PPP) office-bearers to gear up their efforts to reach out to the public and highlight the achievements of the party during the current tenure, besides mobilising people for maximum participation in the forthcoming election. The PPP chairman was talking to members of a delegation of PPP office-bearers from Kasur, Nankana and Sheikhupura districts, who called on him at the Bilawal House. The delegation, headed by PPP Central Punjab President Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo and opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly Raja Riaz, included Sardar M Hussain Dogar, Malik Akhtar Hussain Naul, Chaudhry Ahmad Ali Tolu and Chaudhry Amjad Ali Meo. The meeting discussed political situation in the country with special reference to preparations of the party for the upcoming general election. The chairman said that the PPP derives its strength from the people and was ready to go to the court of the people with the record of its performance during the last five years. He recounted various achievements of the PPP-led coalition government, including the fight against militancy; grant of provincial autonomy; restoration to a large extent of the 1973 Constitution and purging it of distortions inserted by the successive dictatorships; the 20th Constitutional Amendment to ensure free and fair elections; NFC Award; introduction of Aghaz-i-Huqooq-i-Balochistan; political stability through reconciliation; poverty alleviation and women empowerment through the Benazir Income Support Programme; giving shares to the workers in state-run enterprises; giving identity to the people of Pakhtunkhwa; and taking legislative and other measures to protect women and other vulnerable classes from exploitations. He said that even without a simple majority, the PPP had achieved during its tenure what others with heavy mandate could not. "We have to build on these gains as we still have to travel a long distance in our struggle for real empowerment of the people and fulfilling the promise of roti, kapra and makan by our leaders." The PPP chairman said, "With our eyes on the upcoming election, we will not allow anyone to create hurdles in the way of holding free, fair and transparent elections in the country." He said that the completion of PPP-led coalition government's tenure was a great achievement in itself. He advised the office-bearers to galvanise party workers so to have greater interaction with the people of their constituencies and help resolve the problems faced by the people. He asked the elected representatives to ensure early completion of the ongoing developmental schemes in their respective areas. The later part of the meeting was turned into an interactive session where the participants spoke candidly about a host of issues, including the problems faced by the people in their respective areas and the preparations for the upcoming election. They told the chairman that they had been in touch with the people of their respective areas and were making efforts to provide relief to the common man. End.
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