PPP seeks arrow as poll symbol

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto yesterday asked the chief election commissioner to allocate the symbol of arrow to her Pakistan People's Party and not to any other organisation.

"The Pakistan People's Party under my leadership contested the last four general elections under the symbol of the arrow," Bhutto wrote in a letter to the election commission.

"The symbol of the arrow is associated with the PPP which is considered a copyright of the party," said the letter, which has been issued by the PPP from Islamabad.

Bhutto's appeal came as the election commission has started the work to register political parties planning to contest the elections.

More than 80 political parties have so far applied for registration ahead of the August 12 deadline. After the registration process is complete, the commission will award election symbols to the political parties.

The PPP has formed a new group, adding parliamentarians to its name, to abide by the new election laws, which ban Benazir both as a party leader and a candidate in the coming elections.

Benazir has urged that the symbol of arrow be given to the PPP Parliamentarians group. The main PPP will not run for elections.

In her letter, Bhutto accused the government of trying to block her and the PPP from running in the elections scheduled in October 2002.

"The present regime is undermining the electoral process by trying to ban my participation… The PPP and I consider this pre-electoral rigging and bring it to your attention," she said, urging for justice and fair play from the commission.

President Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in October 1999, has vowed not to allow Benazir and Nawaz Sharif, another former premier, any role in the future democratic setup.

"The job of intelligence and officials is to establish internal security and the writ of state. Instead, seeking infiltration of political groups, they are neglecting their core duties and endangering the well-being of our citizens and the state."