KARACHI - The merger of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians into Pakistan People’s Party has been decided after the death of Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf, promulgating the Political Parties Order, 2002, had declared that the head of a party must be present in the country to contest elections and that a political party headed by a convicted person could not participate in polls.
The returning officer in Ratodero declared the two-time prime minister and PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto could not contest election for having failed to appear before a court in a corruption case. This led the party to change its strategy and fight electoral politics with a new name.
Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians was then formed by Makhdoom Amin Fahim after the ban on PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and other PPP leaders to do politics in the country. The PPP formed the new party adding the word parliamentarians and got it registered from the Election Commission of Pakistan to go for the general elections under the regime of former dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf.
According to sources within PPP, the decision to merge PPPP into the party, led by its Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Co Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, was taken well before the death of Amin Fahim, however, it was halted after his health condition worsened during last several weeks.
Since then the party has been going for elections with the name of PPP-Parliamentarians. However, the party sources confirmed to The Nation that it had been decided to submit an official application from the Parliamentarians group in this regard.
“Since Bilawal Bhutto has taken responsibility of the party, there is no need of a party of which none of the top PPP leadership is part,” they said.
Talking to The Nation, Taj Haider refused to comment on the fate of PPPP, but said different options were on the table for it.
“We were discussing these options far before the serious condition of PPPP leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim,” he said and added it was the party that was formed during their crisis period in 2002, but now Pakistan People’s Party is being led by its chairman and co chairman.