People Came Out on Roads to Show Love for Democracy: Benazir
'Pakistan Times' Federal Bureau

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's ex-Prime Minister and Chairperson Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Ms Benazir Bhutto has deplored the action against Private TV channels which were running commentaries on Non-functional Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry's tour of the Punjab.

In a statement issued here Sunday, the former Prime Minister said that the people had come out to show their love for democracy and justice.

She said the people of the country wanted to see the rule of law strengthened and the judiciary made independent.

In this connection, Ms Bhutto noted that the PPP Government had separated the Judiciary and the Executive to lay the foundations of an independent judiciary.

She said that the PPP was the single party that had not sacked or removed a chief justice or judges in the country.

The former Prime Minister said that only with a truly representative government could the peoples’ problems, like poverty, backwardness, unemployment, education and energy be resolved.

She called upon the people to vote for PPP and its allies so that the country could move onto the path of progress.

She called upon the regime to respect the freedom of the press. She said actions against the press would undermine the image of the country, which no patriotic person would want.

Fazl Reax

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Sunday that Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) may strike a seat adjustment agreement with any party in next general elections.

Addressing a press conference at Madrassah Hammadiya in Sindh, he said that Ms Benazir Bhutto wants to pave her way to power through a deal with USA, "however there is no likelihood for MMA to make any compromise on it".

Maulana Fazlur Rehmann said MMA’s politics is based on principles, adding that there are human rights violations in the country and state terrorism is on the rampage.

“Reaction is thought to be a crime; however those who are behind their causes are not reckoned the culprits,” the opposition leader said.

The world institutions appreciated MMA’s government policies in NWFP and Balochistan provinces, he added.●