MULTAN - The Panama Papers case verdict should be announced as soon as possible so that normalcy can be restored in the country, said former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani.

“The Supreme Court of Pakistan should announce the final verdict as soon as possible to quell all speculations and rumours that have been surrounding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” Gilani said while talking to the media in Multan on Sunday.

The ex-PM said that the PPP is an ideological party and will wait for the Supreme Court’s decision.

The PPP stalwart dispelled the impression about clash between state institutions, adding that the government should complete its mandated tenure, and the next general elections should be held in 2018. Gilani said that Prime Minister Sharif should take the nation into confidence if he believes that a conspiracy has been hatched against him. “The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict based on the JIT report, and all political parties are active over the matter” he said.

“A quick decision (by the Supreme Court) will normalise the situation in the country,” he claimed, adding that he is in favour of the government completing its tenure.

Talking about election reforms, Gilani said that all parties need to work for them. “Without election reforms, we cannot have transparent elections,” he pointed out, adding that the country need electoral reforms for real change.

The former PM was of the view that it is only the PPP that has actually represented the people of southern Punjab. “All the presidents, ministers and governors from this region were nominated by the PPP,” he claimed, adding that both the PML-N and PTI will give nothing to the region.

Gilani said that the safety and security of the nation is in safe hands.  When asked about Indian spy Kulbushan Jadhav, Gilani pointed out that he was the first prime minister to have spoken about foreign interference in Balochistan.

He said that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a visionary leader who gave the nation the 1973 Constitution, and his services to make Pakistan a nuclear power cannot be ignored.

The PPP leader said that he has not yet pondered over running for the next election. About the party manifesto, he said that a committee has been formed to form a successful one which will be fully implemented.