The Awami Jamhoori Itehad (AJI), its’ student action committee and civil society members on Tuesday staged a peaceful march from the Aabpara intersection to the Parade Square in front of the Parliament House to condemn the assassination of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto.
The participants of the march, about 50 in number, chanted anti-government slogans and demanded President Pervez Musharraf’s resignation from the office.
They also demanded a consensus interim setup to hold free and fair elections.
They were carrying placards inscribed with slogans demanding restoration of the deposed judges, fair elections and free media. They were also carrying black flags to mourn Benazir’s assassination.
They said the government should encourage freedom of expression and dialogue instead of curbs on media and political activities.
They said people had lost their trust in the present government as it had failed to serve the people and exposed them to the worst kind of terrorism.
Neither the national leaders nor the general public was feeling secure in the country, they said, adding, the government is indifferent to people’s suffering, particularly towards their issues including inflation, healthcare and education.
They said Benazir’s assassination was a great loss to the nation as she had a vision to steer the country out of the present crisis and put it on the path to progress.
They said the entire world was grieved over Benazir’s assassination as she had presented a soft image of the country abroad.
They said the government had removed all the clues that could lead to a fair investigation in to Benazir’s assassination. They called upon the international community to press the government for a fair investigation.
Speaking on the occasion Amna Paracha, a family friend of Benazir, said that Benazir was a great stateswoman and had no malice towards anyone as she was of the view that all kinds of issues could be tackled through dialogue.
Later, the participants of the march dispersed peacefully.
A heavy contingent of police was present on the occasion to avoid any untoward incident.
Leave Your Comments