LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party leader Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan on Sunday criticised the party for neglecting Punjab, urging leadership to acknowledge this gap and take corrective measures. He made the remarks while addressing a rally marking the 58th Foundation Day of the PPP in Lahore.
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Ahsan said the party has traditionally concentrated on Sindh at the cost of Punjab, despite his repeated advice to PPP parliamentarians from Sindh to pay more attention to the province. He suggested that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari form a 15-member self-accountability committee to identify gaps in the party’s political strategy and address them.
Reflecting on the party’s historical resilience, he recalled that in 1997, the PPP had only 17 MNAs yet effectively challenged then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, forcing him to skip National Assembly sessions. He also criticised former PTI chief Imran Khan for resigning from assemblies, leaving the opposition forum open for the government.
Other party leaders highlighted the PPP’s legacy, with Imtiaz Safdar Warraich noting that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto founded the party in Lahore on the promise of “roti, kapra aur makaan” for workers, farmers, and the poor, while ensuring a unanimous constitution. Faisal Mir praised party members who opposed military regimes and said Lahore’s Jiyalas continue to compete with PML-N and PTI. He claimed the PPP plans to field at least 5,000 candidates across Lahore in upcoming local body elections.
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Zahid Zulfiqar, Shahida Jabeen, and Arif Khan urged that the party should be freed from internal hypocrites and Pakistan liberated from the “dark forces of the past,” emphasizing a renewed commitment to the PPP’s founding principles.