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Discrimination: Benazir party

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD Aug. 31 . A day after the election authorities rejected the papers of the former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, to run for the October general election, the party petitioned to the Commonwealth accusing the Musharraf government of "double-standards".

It is not clear what the party intends to gain by taking up the issue with the Commonwealth as Pakistan already stands suspended from all its committees and the Musharraf Government has been engaged in a verbal duel with the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, over the interpretation of its steps for the restoration of democracy.

The PPP Central Coordinator of Human Rights Cell in a letter addressed to Mr. McKinnon alleged that the decision of the authorities to reject the election papers of Ms. Bhutto was a clear case of discrimination by the military regime.

``This decision has come in the situation when the nomination papers of another former Prime Minister, who has been convicted twice by the Anti-Terrorist Court and the Accountability Court, have been accepted, which itself is a blatant and transparent violation of the conscience regarding non-discrimination amongst citizens as envisaged by Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan.''

The PPP however sought to clarify that it welcomed the acceptance of the nomination papers of Nawaz Sharif but felt that justice had not been done to Ms. Bhutto.

"We are of the view that the recent acts of the regime has been (Benazir) Bhutto specific and are aimed at marginalising the Pakistan People's Party and alienating the southern province of Sindh from the federation.''

Condemning the rejection of the nomination papers, the party expressed its `non-confidence' in the judiciary and accused it of playing into the hands of the establishment.

In a related development, the party condemned what it termed as the military regime's "coercing tactics" to pressure the PPP candidates to withdraw from elections and demanded the Chief Election Commissioner to take note of it.

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