ISLAMABAD - Co-Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari snubbed Senator Aitzaz Ahsan during the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting recently held in Garhi Khuda Bux when the latter started raising questions over the party’s bad governance in Sindh, The Nation has learnt.
When Aitzaz raised the issue of bad governance in Sindh, he was told by Zardari that governance in the province was better than rest of the provinces, which was agreed by other party leadership and Aitaz found himself isolated.
According to a member of CEC requesting anonymity, when Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto was chairing the CEC meeting, Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said that Sindh government failed to deliver as per commitment made in the party manifesto but he was given a shut up call by ex-president Asif Zardari.
On this occasion, Aitzaz Ahsan told the meeting that Chairman Bilwal Bhutto should lead the youth of the country not only Sindh province.
Sources quoted Aitzaz while saying that PPP leadership was enjoying power in Sindh but the leaders and workers of Punjab were suffering due to lack of interaction with the top party leadership.
The leading personality of the lawyer movement urged the PPP top leadership to take steps for restructuring the party in the largest province of the country on emergency basis.
The former president while replying to Aitzaz’s observations said that governance in Sindh was comparatively better than other provinces, which was nodded by all party members and Aitzaz was left in the lurch. The former president on this occasion said that he would soon start visits of Punjab along with Bilawal. “The PPP cannot ignore workers of Punjab and PPP chairman will also visit different districts of province,” Zardari added.
Talking to The Nation, a senior leader of PPP Punjab chapter said that he could not understand this kind of attitude of the party’s top leadership with Punjab leaders and workers. He said that Bilwal Bhutto Zardari and the co-chairman assured the provincial leadership that they would pay visits to Punjab soon but it would not happen. He said that the top leadership had totally ignored the Punjab leadership and workers after coming to power in Sindh.
The source further said that PPP had given Rs45 million to President of PPP Punjab chapter Mian Mazoor Watto for party’s restructuring in the province. He said that Watto stayed nine days in Islamabad and held a meeting with presidents of the party at districts level but could not find an active team.
He said that Bilawal should visit Punjab to activate PPP activists in Punjab.