PPP demo against Musharraf

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 By By Our Correspondent

LAHORE DOZENS of PPP activists, led by Punjab Senior Minister Raja Riaz Ahmed, on Monday staged a demonstration against former President Pervez Musharraf to condemn his remarks against President Asif Ali Zardari. The demonstration, held outside the Lahore Press Club, was attended by a number of PPP workers who gathered outside the LPC in the afternoon and continued the protest for more than an hour. The participants of the demonstration included former President PPP Lahore Haji Azizur Rehman Chan, Munir Ahmed Khan, Zakriya Butt, Akbar Khan, Arif Khan MPA Faiza Malik, Shamim Niazi, Nasreen Gillani and Atiya Salim. The women activists of the PPP Lahore, led by MPA Sajida Mir, also participated in the protest and blocked the Edgerton Road for sometime. Holding placards, banners and party flags, the PPP members burned the effigy of Pervez Musharraf and hit it with clubs and slippers. They chanted various slogans against former dictator and expressed complete trust in Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari. Most of the PPP notables from Lahore, including the party’s Lahore President Chaudhry Muhammad Asghar could turn up during the protest due to his participation in the CEC meeting in Islamabad. Talking to the media, Senior Minister Raja Riaz Ahmed said the former dictator had no room in the country’s politics and added that a defeated ruler had issued remarks against an elected president which showed his frustration. He said the whole PPP was united under the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari who always promoted the national reconciliation for the sake of democracy and federation. The participants dispersed peacefully after the protest.