PPP 'brags' Karachi ownership with Oct 16 rally

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership termed their Oct 16 rally in Karachi a successful political show, and thanked masses for attending the public gathering in large numbers.

They also conveyed a strong reply to MQM for the criticisms on its rally. A group of PPP leadership from both central and provincial hierarchy paid a visit to Karachi Press Club (KPC).

Addressing to the journalists the PPP leadership paid tribute to the print and electronic media for giving massive coverage to the PPP’s yesterday’s rally, commemoration of 9^th anniversary of Karsaz incident in which about 250 political workers were died in a bomb explosion when hundreds of thousands of people gathered to welcome the Benazir Bhutto on her arrival to Karachi after seven years of self-imposed exile in Britain and Dubai.

PPP central leadership and former Minister for Information during Zardari’s regime Qamar Zaman Kaira said, “we have a cherishing past and we will celebrate our marvelous heritage, thus those who criticized the love of our workers towards the party leadership is just a factor of jealousy.”

Kaira admired the sacrifices of the journalist’s community for the continuity of democracy in the country. He said, “The pen has always stood for the democracy but those who run behind the materialistic objectives had harmed the country.”

He emphasized that it is the responsibility of all the stakeholders of the society that they should play their due role to make Pakistan prosperous.

In reply to a journalist’s question about the difficulties the people of Karachi faced due to blockade of roads for the rally, Kaira said,” we had chosen Sunday, a weekly off day just because we wanted to decrease the inconvenience of the Karachite’s as it was a big mass gathering and we regret if any un convenience the people had faced due to the rally.”

PPP’s Provincial Minister for Information, Maula Buksh Chandio said that we have proven that Karachi belongs to us and we are the real representatives of Sindh. While responding to the MQM’s criticism for PPP workers dance on the anniversary of the martyrs he said, “Sindh is the land of Sufis and you don’t know the power of Dhamal, a sacred dance, performed by the people who practice mysticism” that it was a sacred activity and our party have people from diverse religious backgrounds and we respect all of them.”

Chandio also strongly criticized the MQM’s call for separate province.

Provincial Minister for Education Nisar Ahmed Khoro paid tribute to all the martyrs of Karsaz Blast and said that our party has a great respect for the martyrs.

The delegation was accompanied by other PPP leaders, Nafesa Shah, Rashid Rabbani, Waqar Mehdi, Choudhry Manzoor and number of other workers from Sindh.