ISLAMABAD -  Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday claimed that the Pakistan People’s Party public gathering at the parade ground had proved that the party was the greatest political force in the country.

The PPP, he said, would form the next government in the centre and the provinces after the next general elections.

Speaking to a party delegation from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa led by Humayun Khan, the former president said that the PPP was a party of every strata of the society, which believed in emancipating the down-trodden population of Pakistan and for that reason whenever the party came to power it created employment opportunities for the youth.

He said that the PPP believed in the saying of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto that political heaven was under the feet of the people.

Zardari said the people see Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto in Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and that was why they love him immensely.

Meanwhile, congratulating Amanullah Khan and Syed Ameer Hussain Shah Kazmi on the success in the Capital Development Authority (CDA) Labour Union elections, the former president said that the PPP was a pro-workers party and the union led by Amanullah Khan can serve the CDA labour more than any other group.

He said that the success proved that labour force was with the PPP-supported Amanullah group.

Zardari congratulated every supporter and voter of the group.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday mountaineer Afzal Alvi who hoisted the PPP flag on top of K-2 called on Bilawal Bhutto Zardari here.

During the meeting Alvi said that he immensely loved the PPP and the workers were lucky to have Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as party leader.

“The way Asif Ali Zardari faced adversity after Zulfkar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto makes every party worker proud,” he said.

Chairman Bilawal said that the party valued the dedication and love of Afzal Alvi for the party and congratulated him for hoisting PPP flag on top of K-2.

PPP Gilgit-Baltistan President Amjad Hussain was also present during the meeting.

Coordinator Human Rights Cell PPP and National Assembly member Dr Nafisa Shah also called on Bilawal.

Separately, on Wednesday, PPP leaders Qamar Zaman Kaira and Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed held a news conference warning the government of a sit-in if the killers of the Model Town massacre were not arrested and punished.

The PPP leaders said the government must implement the orders of the court on the Model Town tragedy.

The PPP leaders claimed thousands of activists were stopped from participating in the party’s golden jubilee rally the other day.

Kaira and Ahmed said the party would win the 2018 elections and would return to power.

SHERRY WARNS AGAINST MOVING US EMBASSY

Pakistan People’s Party Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman on Wednesday voiced concern over the possible decision by the Trump administration to move the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

In a statement issued here, the senator said: “If the Trump administration moves the US embassy to Jerusalem, it will send a costly signal to the entire Muslim world.”

She added: “Moving the capital to Jerusalem will fuel fires of extremism and exacerbate faultlines in an already volatile Middle East and strain the relationship of the US with its Muslim allies. This move will minimise any possibility of the two-state solution becoming a reality, as Jerusalem lies at the heart of the two-state solution, which presently is the only viable solution to the conflict.”

Senator Rehman said that the PPP had always stood for and by the Palestinian people.

“The Government of Pakistan must therefore make its stance loud and clear on this alarming development. Pakistan should not wait to convey its due concern,” the lawmaker said.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the US embassy in Islamabad, in collaboration with the Islamabad Club, hosted a panel discussion with students and experts on ending violence against women as part of its commemoration of “16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence”.

Minister Counselor for Public Affairs Kathryn Crockart welcomed the group.

“The 16 Days of Activism to End Violence against Women campaign focuses on the need for action from everyone— men and women, boys and girls, government officials, and community leaders—to end violence against women and girls around the world,” she said.

The participants discussed the importance of gender equality and women’s empowerment in building resilient, democratic societies; supporting open and accountable governance; ending extreme poverty; and to furthering international peace and security.