Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Central Punjab President and former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that the alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was formed in the interest of the state, not for political gains.
He expressed these views while addressing a press conference on Saturday after meeting newly appointed office bearers of PPP Central Punjab. Raja Pervez Ashraf said that whether an incident occurs in Karachi, Lahore or anywhere else, its impact is felt by the whole nation.
The former prime minister said that the PPP has always raised the Kashmir issue at both national and international forums and has a historic relationship with the Kashmiri people. He said the rally organized by PPP Lahore would further highlight this longstanding stance and expressed confidence that the people of Lahore support the party’s position on Kashmir.
Responding to media questions, Raja Pervez Ashraf urged the provincial government to pay immediate attention to issues of farmers. He expressed hope that Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif would step in to support the farming community.
He said: “Our focus must remain on resolving the problems faced by the people”. Raja Pervez Ashraf said that the party had received positive feedback regarding the new organizational structure, which was finalized after extensive consultation. He said the PPP leadership is satisfied with the reorganization process.
He said that most of the new office bearers belong to the Peoples Student Federation and People’s Youth Organization, and added that former office bearers have welcomed the new leadership in a positive spirit. He announced that following the reorganization at the central level, party structures would now be formed down to the union council level.
Referring to Lahore’s new leadership, Raja Pervez Ashraf said that dynamic leaders Faisal Mir and Dr Ayesha have emerged to strengthen the party in the provincial capital. He also announced that he would participate in the “Kashmir Banega Pakistan” rally to be held on Mall Road, Lahore
Several newly appointed PPP Central Punjab office bearers were present on the occasion, including Hassan Murtaza, Shahzad Saeed Cheema, Rana Farooq Saeed, Neelam Jabbar, Ahsan Rizvi, Rana Jawad, Faisal Mir, Mian Ayub, Dr Khayyam Hafeez, Ubabar Jamil, Arshad Jatt, Umaima Iftikhar, and Ch Riaz.