Naheed Khan, a close aide of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, has said that she is sad over the angry departure of Shah Mehmood Qureshi, adding she had appealed him to fight for restructuring PPP while staying within the party. Talking to Business Recorder on phone, she said Qureshi had a long association of 18 years with the party as CEC member and got nominated for the office of Prime Minister by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
He had also organised the party as president PPP Punjab, she said. "I am sad over the departure of a noble party member," she added. Naheed lashed out at the party leadership for running the party during the last four years. She said the party workers are in search of identification today. "It is a matter of record that 75,000 party workers faced imprisonment and got hanged in the hands of dictatorship for the party," she said, adding: "The party is being run as a family fiefdom."
Naheed said she had no idea whether Qureshi has left party for not being awarded with ministry but added in the same breath that the points raised by Qureshi are matching with ground realities. Regarding Qureshi's joining of Imran Khan, she said Qureshi is free to join anyone after resigning from the party. When asked the potential of Bilawal Zardari Bhutto in reuniting the party, she said Bilawal would have to distance herself from present situation to win workers' sympathy. Also, she said, Bilawal would take long duration to learn the political mechanism in Pakistan.
She urged the party leadership to institutionalise and democratise the party to avoid further cracks in the party like India where Congress party has been institutionalise in the absence of credible leaders like Ghandi and Nehru. Concluding, she said the party would survive only if the party leadership extends respect to the workers.