TRANSFER OF
POWER TO AWAMI LEAGUE AND PPP IN THE TWO WINGS
BHUTTO'S DEMAND IN CASE OF PRE-CONSTITUTION CHANGES
Speech by Mr. Z.
A. BHUTTO on
Mr. Zulfikar All Bhutto, Chairman of the
Pakistan People's Party said in Karachi yesterday that if power was to be
transferred to the people before any constitutional settlement, as demanded by
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, it should be transferred to the majority party in East
Pakistan "and the majority party here".
Addressing a public meeting in
If power was to be transferred to the
majority parties of the two Wings, it should be given to the Awami League in
Mr. Bhutto strongly advocated for
"one
He added that the rule of majority for the
whole country would become applicable only if the Six-Point demand was dropped.
Since that is not being done, the rationale and logic of this Six-Point demand
necessitates agreement of the majority parties of both the Wings, he added.
Mr. Bhutto, in his 85-minute speech, dealt
in detail with the events following last general elections. He also spoke on
the stand of his party on the constitution making.
Mr. Bhutto said the People's Party
insisted that there should be an end to exploitation in both Wings of the
country. This, he said, could be done only if the capitalistic pattern of
society was done away with and socialism was introduced.
He said that the Awami League had shown
itself against discussing outside the Assembly and its leader insisted on
resolving all issues within the Assembly. In this context, Mr. Bhutto wondered
why the Awami League had now come forward with four "conditions"
outside the Assembly.
Utmost Efforts
He said that his party had made
"utmost efforts" to arrive at some understanding and settlement with
the majority party outside the Assembly on the constitutional issue. "If
the Awami League is not willing to this, we are helpless", he added.
Mr. Bhutto said his party was willing to
sit with the majority party in the Assembly to frame
He urged Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to ignore
"advice and counsels" of those who had been rejected by the people in
the last general election and even had their security deposits forfeited.
Mr. Bhutto said that the capitalists,
reactionary elements and agents of imperialism were out to create
misunderstanding between the two majority parties. He said he was never
hesitant or reluctant to meet Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to discuss the
constitutional matters and was still prepared to go to
* * * * * * * * * *
Assurances
He said that the People's Party wanted
only "assurances" from the majority party that its view point would
also be heard in the Assembly. It had not laid down any preconditions for
attending the Assembly. The Awami League leadership had said that there should
be no preconditions outside the Assembly. He said he (Mr. Bhutto) wondered why
the Awami League had now laid down four preconditions for attending the
National Assembly.
Mr. Bhutto said that all he had asked for
was to get more time before his party went to the Assembly. This he said, was
necessary to seek the consent of the people on the Six-Point programme. The
People's Party, Mr. Bhutto said, had a mandate from the people only on its
foreign policy and the socialist pattern of econony.
Mr. Bhutto said that in the event of
acceptance of Six-Point programme Punjab and
to East Wing and about Rs. 3,871 crore out
of 4,000 crore rupees of foreign aid should go to
He said that if his party had conceded the
six-point programme against the wishes of the people of
Confrontation
Mr. Bhutto said, the People's Party would
have to forego its confrontation with
* * * * * * * * * *
Mr. Bhutto said that with Awami League on
the one side wanting more or less independence and the People's Party on the
other side wanting an end to the exploitation, an extreme crisis was
inevitable. This crisis, Mr. Bhutto said, had erupted now because the
difference had come to surface. He said that this crisis had to be faced at
some stage whether outside the Assembly or inside the house after that. He said
that it was better that we should face this crisis right now. It would assume a
more serious nature if the crisis was deferred.
Trade and aid
Mr. Bhutto said that his party had not
adopted an uncomprising attitude on the six-point programme. His party was
trying its best to narrow down the differences on each and every point of the
programme. The only debatable point was foreign trade and foreign aid.
* * * * * * * * * *
Mr. Bhutto dismissed outright the Awami
League's allegation that the date of National Assembly's Session was set by
President General Yahya Khan after consulting him. He swore by `Kalima' and his
children, that President Yahya Khan did not consult him about the comening of
the National Assembly Session.
* * * * * *
(THE DAWN,
Karachi-March 15, 1971)
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