LARKANA, Feb 5: Pakistan People’s Party (Shaheed Bhutto) held the ‘chehlum’ of late Benazir Bhutto at Al-Murtaza House here on Tuesday where the speakers said that her assassination was an attempt to create anarchy in the country and to destabilise it.

A large number of people, including Sindh National Front chief Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, his son Ameer Bakhsh Bhutto and others attended the gathering where strong contingents of Rangers and police stood guard to prevent any untoward incident.

Ms Ghinwa Bhutto said that under the prevailing conditions, responsibility lied with Punjab to ‘keep all the brothers together.’ She said all provinces constituted Pakistan and without these provinces Pakistan was nothing.

It would have been better that elections were postponed for sometimes, as the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) was boycotting the polls along with certain other political parties. If APDM participated in polls under new schedule, the elections could be labelled as fair and legal, she said. Perhaps, she added, election would now be held due to mounting pressure from European Union and other countries.

She urged people to vote for ‘fist,’ the symbol of PPP-SB candidates for the provincial autonomy and powers at the grass root level, making people the masters of their will.

She held the US responsible for all bomb blasts world over and added only organised peoples’ power could defeat it.

Referring to his letter addressed to President Musharraf, SNF chief Mumtaz Bhutto said he had expressed doubts through the letter regarding the investigations of Ms Bhutto’s murder. He disclosed that the information he had with him was conveyed to the president demanding of him to include them in the investigations.

He said that the killers of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Ms Benazir Bhutto were same. He claimed that in 1997 as caretaker chief minister of Sindh he had ordered reopening the inquiry into the murder of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and some solid things came out. But, he added, the investigation was hushed up through what he called ‘deals’. He said if justice was denied, he would take his own decision and no one would be allowed to digest this murder.

He criticised PPP’s stand of taking revenge with votes, saying that it did not sound sensible.

Seema Rafique, provincial head of PPP-SB women wing, Ms Tahzeebul Nisa Mahar and others also spoke on the occasion. Earlier, Quran Khwani was held and food was distributed.

RESOLUTIONS: Nine resolutions were adopted on the occasion, demanding the government to initiate a probe into the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto by honest judges of the superior courts of Pakistan to unmask the forces involved in it.

The gathering demanded doing away with the concurrent list and granting maximum provincial autonomy to the provinces and termed the decision of performing no post mortem of Ms Bhutto a criminal negligence.

In another resolution, the gathering demanded of the government to release all political prisoners and pay compensation for losses caused in the riots after the assassination of Ms Bhutto.

The meeting demanded reinstatement of the judges of Supreme Court who had refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order and release of detained and arrested lawyers.

The gathering urged the government to change the policy of supporting the US and said that it had bent upon capturing the resources of developing countries under the excuse of war against terrorism.

The meeting called for suspension of operation in Balochistan, Waziristan and Wana and finding out solution through a dialogue.