GUJAR KHAN: No one can defeat Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the party will sweep the next general elections, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf declared on Sunday.

Addressing a large public rally organised by PPP’s Gujar Khan chapter, the Prime Minister said that solid development work carried out by the PPP and unflinching support of party workers would be the basis of its electoral win.

Before addressing party workers, the Prime Minister ordered the removal of the bullet-proof glass from the dais, saying he did not want any barrier between him and the people. The Prime Minister said that conspiracies had always been hatched to snatch of Pakistan Peoples Party’s mandate. “No one will now be allowed to rob the PPP of people’s mandate,” he said, adding that the party would defeat its political opponents in the next elections.

Highlighting the creation of an independent and sovereign Election Commission, he said that this would stop electoral rigging.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s judgment in Asghar Khan case, the Prime Minister said the verdict had vindicated PPP’s stance that the 1990 elections had been rigged and the party was robbed of its public mandate.

He reminded the audience of former PPP chairperson late Benazir Bhutto, who said that the 1990 elections had been rigged and said that that at that time, instead of listening to her genuine grievance‚ efforts had been made to declare her a security risk. He said the verdict uncovered the truth before the world and exposed several faces involved in the conspiracy and the media trial against the PPP. He said that the Gujar Khan pubic meeting was an eye-opener for those conducting surveys, saying that PPP was a popular party and the public meeting’s attendance was a proof of it.

Highlighting sacrifices rendered by PPP leaders Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto for democracy and people’s rights, he said that President Asif Ali Zardari was taking forward the reconciliation policy envisioned by late Benazir Bhutto.

Reposing confidence in the leadership of President Zardari, he said that his party would continue to work for the country’s development and prosperity and people’s welfare.

He reminded people that when the PPP had assumed power, there was a shortage of wheat, but because of the government’s prudent policies, the country was now not only self-sufficient, it was also earning foreign exchange through the export of the commodity.

Focussing on development work carried out during the PPP-led government’s tenure, he said that such development work had never before been done “in the past hundred years”. Reaffirming the commitment to stand by “our law-enforcement agencies and armed forces to root out terrorism”, the prime minister said that the PPP would defend the country.

The Prime Minister announced the setting up of an IT University in Gujar Khan, adding that efforts were being made to upgrade the status of Gujar Khan tehsil to district level. The Prime Minister said that he had talked with the Punjab Chief Minister in this regard. Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and President of PPP Punjab Mian Manzoor Wattoo also addressed on the occassion.

Interior Rehman Malik‚ Minister for Capital Administration and Development Nazar Mohammad Gondal‚ Presidential spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar‚ BISP chairperson Farzana Raja also attended the public meeting.