KP leaders voice reservations about PPP membership drive

PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s district presidents in their meeting with the provincial cabinet conveyed

their reservations on the proposed membership drive in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“It will be difficult for the district presidents to carry out membership drive without completing the party’s organizational set up at district level. Since the party organisations are incomplete in many districts and almost all tehsils, towns and union councils, it would be difficult for the office-bearers to accomplish this task,” said a party leader wishing anonymity.

Only the presidents, general secretaries and information secretaries have been notified in most districts while rest of the organizational set up is incomplete.

PPP provincial President Humayun Khan has invited the district presidents, but many complained that they had already sent their recommended names for the last three months and none has been notified yet.

However, they agreed with the provincial president to directly take up this issue with the party’s chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in the next meeting.

The district presidents were of the view that instead of membership drive, the party should have concentrated on making preparations for the forthcoming election like other parties and woo back the dissidents.

They observed that they were facing problems in their respective districts and this would definitely affect the PPP candidates in the campaign for the next election.

They said other parties were doing politics on issues, but our leaders could not resolve their internal differences.

 PPP provincial deputy general secretary for Khyber Pakhtun-khwa, Bahramand Tangi, who was the only cabinet member president in the meeting with district presidents, maintained this wasn’t a meeting of the cabinet.

Provincial President Humayun Khan has invited the district presidents to brief them on the membership drive, which the party has launched on the directives of the PPP chairman.

He said it would enable workers to communicate with the party leaders and receive messages within minutes.

“The membership drive is, in fact, part of the preparation for the election. It would improve our communication and mobilise workers for important events and protests,” he said.

Humayun Khan said only a few district presidents couldn’t reach out to the masses.  However, he claimed the party’s organisations in many districts, including Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Lower Dir, Upper Dir and Chitral had been completed.

He said names in the organizational set up for various other districts had been withheld.

Bahramand Tangi, the deputy general secretary for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, agreed that only three offices including president, general secretary and information secretary have been notified out of the total 15-member district cabinet.

He hoped the remaining names for district set ups would soon be announced.

He said the party had directed the divisional and district presidents to properly send the recommended names with signatures of the general secretaries, information secretaries and other stakeholders including the party’s former MNAs or MPAs so as to accommodate the workers.

Terming the membership drive as the backbone of the party, he said it was the responsibility of the PPP provincial president to take interest in it.

An activist said that many workers have already

downloaded membership form from the party’s website, which the PPP chairman inaugurated recently.

The form is simple and workers received confirmation emails after filling it out.

“Instead of complicating every issue, the PPP

leaders should pursue dissidents in every district and division and reorganise the party to face the political opponents in the coming general election,” the activist argued.