Address at an open Katchery in Karachi On January 25, 1973

President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said that the people of Pakistan were the fountain head of power sand he wanted greater contacts with them at all levels individually as well as collectively.

Speaking at first-ever open “kutchery” held in Karachi he said the idea of open kutcheries was also aimed at developing more contacts with the people so that their problems could be understood and solved to their satisfaction.

He said that he was planning to spare one day a weed to meet the people in Rawalpindi for this purpose.

He said that he was from amongst the masses and he knew their difficulties. It was his duty to look into them and solve them.

He said that he was confident the system of open kutcheries would be a success. On the one hand, it would help achieve the objective of greater contacts with the people and on the other, it would go a long way in speedy solution of the people’s problems.

The President said that he could have asked all the people to come and give their complaints, but that would not have produced the desired results. So the people had been invited in the form of delegations to voice their grievances.

He said that the entire Sind Cabinet including the Governor, the Chief Minister and Provincial Ministers and other senior officers were also here in the court of the people. The people were free to voice their complaints and grievances and they would be gives satisfactory answers.

The previous rulers, President Bhutto said, had also held “Derbar-e-Aam and Darba-e-Khas”, But these “Darbars” were only of officials and bureaucrats.

This was so because these rulers had no connection with the masses.

He assured the people that his Government would do everything to mitigate the sufferings of the masses. The people were free to put forward their complaints to the concerned ministries and they would be dealt with speedily.

The President asked the Sindh Ministers to attend to party workers problems at the Pakistan People’s Party secretariat more regularly.