LOWER DIR: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Yusuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said that the PPP gave a new identity to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and nominated a provincial governor from FATA.
The PPP leader was addressing a rally which was skipped by PPP chairman Asif Ali Zardari over security issues. The area has remained a traditional stronghold of the Jamiat-e-Islami.
He said that the PPP devolved powers to smaller provinces under the constitution and relinquished presidential powers to the parliament and made utmost effort to remove the deprivations and reservations of the provinces during its tenure.
He lauded sacrifices of people of Malakand division in the war against terrorism and said that army had made immense efforts for peace and security of the area. He said that the movement of 2.5 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) made it one of the largest migrations in the world.
He said that the PPP accepted the court decision when he was dismissed from the premiership and banned from political office for five years. He said that the constitution was formed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but the PPP refrained from stand-off with other institutions to ensure the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution.
He said that those who had written off the PPP were living in fool’s paradise and should realise PPP is party which has struggled for rights of downtrodden, peasants, labourers and women.
Gilani said that PPP gave new identity to the Pashtuns, whereas the incumbent government has only called for merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with KP and blocked identity cards of Pashtuns.
