'Body can summon any PPP member in BB murder probe'

KARACHI - After culmination of campaign in Punjab, the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has started the party membership drive in Sindh, which aims at providing opportunities to the new generation, especially the youths. However, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah who is also PPPs provincial president, has said that after completion of membership campaign, the party will conduct intra-party elections from top to bottom across the country. PPPs central Secretary General Senator Jehangir Badr and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah while addressing a press conference at CM House on Wednesday evening said that party had already completed membership drive in Punjab and Islamabad, while now it has started in Sindh on rotational basis. Though, the party conducts membership drive every year, but after assassination of party chairperson Shaheed Benazir Bhutto the membership campaign was halted due to elections and government affairs. As PPP led federal government has achieved historical successes in its two years like restoration of 1973 constitutions into its original form, unanimous decision on NFC award, Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package, acceptance of political rights to Gilgit Baltstan, implementation on Shaheed Benazir Income Support programme and other mega projects. So, the party has decided re-launching membership campaign, which aims to provide opportunities to younger generation in the party, they said and appealed to the masses to come forward to become member of the party. Senator Jehangir Badr said that PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the first one who became party member in the party membership campaign for 2010, while Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani, party Co-chairman Asif Zardari and other federal ministers and Central leaders also filled their party membership form. The party workers, office-bearers and other should renew their membership of party, he said, adding that modern technology be used to computerise the members' data that should include all basic information about members and workers to be stored in the central data bank of the party maintained at the Central Secretariat in Islamabad. He also said that computerised data of the members will be maintained in each province in the party's provincial secretariats. To a question, he said that party workers complained him about non-coordination of the ministers with party workers, however, the party leaders holding government posts have been instructed to keep in contact with the party workers. When asked about the party position regarding party leaders whose names have been indicated by UN in its report about BBs assassination case, Jehangir Badr said that two committees, one formed by the federal government and other constituted by the Punjab IGP, are independent. The party and its government will not create hurdle in the probe, while the committee is authorised to summon any person to probe into matter including summoning of the party leader whose name have been indicated by the UNO in its report. The Sindh chief minister said that the party will conduct intra-party elections after completion of the membership campaign. He also said that party workers have lots of complaints, but the government has assigned the ministers to go in districts to hold open court, besides meetings with the party workers. The CM maintained that he had himself organised party conventions in Hyderabad and other districts to keep in contact and solve the problems of the party workers. Party leaders, membership campaign In-charge MNA Fouzia Habib, Federal Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jillani, Dr Zulfiqar Mirza and other were also present at the press conference.