ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari yesterday said Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Khawaja Asif’s statement against him had some hidden connections.

Speaking to journalists here, Zardari said Asif’s statement was designed to divide the opposition. “The statement might have been issued on someone else’s behalf. This is an attempt to divide the opposition,” he said.

Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) leader Khawaja Asif – a former Foreign Minister – issued a statement questioning the newly formed Pakistan Democratic Movement and asserting that he still did not “completely trust” Asif Ali Zardari.

“It is not easy to trust him. My opinion about Zardari has not changed,” he said in a television interview. But PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif later said he had a lot of respect for Asif Ali Zardari.

Sharif said he has faith in Asif Ali Zardari and he was an important and valuable part of PDM.

PPP leaders issued charge sheet against Khawaja Asif, accusing him of backstabbing his own party and working to subvert the emerging PPP-PML-N political alliance.

Zardari said that Khawaja Asif’s statement was not his own. “He gave the statement on someone’s behalf,” he added.   

Meanwhile, Zardari’s daughter Aseefa Bhutto said her father was the only former President consistently going to court to face all allegations. “Asif Ali Zardari has been doing so for 30 plus years. My father is a tax paying citizen,” she tweeted.

PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the PPP will oppose the “illegal annexation” of Sindh’s islands through presidential ordinance by the federal government.

He said the government’s response to PPP’s All Parties Conference and PDM was to increase frequency of Zardari’s appearance in courts.

“He’s now appearing multiple times a week while we brace for COVID second wave. The fact that Sindh’s cases are being tried in Pindi is not only unconstitutional but also increases risk,” he added.