LAHORE - The Pakistan People’s Party and its leadership are being targeted under the garb of accountability, said party’s Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira here yesterday. Addressing a press conference, Kaira took serious exception to the allegations of Benami accounts of Asif Ali Zardari and demanded proofs. “If proofs are not available then smear campaign against former president should be stopped at once. We are not against accountability but the process should be across the board and not person and party-specific”.

He said Zardari in the past faced cases in person and emerged victorious and this time too he was ready to face the law. Kaira said contrary to the patience and respect to the law shown by Zardari in fighting his cases, the PML-N had took to streets to fight case of Nawaz Sharif after his disqualification by the Supreme Court. He said the PPP Co-Chairman was their respectable leader and the PPP would not tolerate mud-slugging campaign against him.

“Why every Benami account is being attributed to the PPP leaders,” he posed a question and asked for taking action if there were any proofs. As to sending money through Hundi, Kaira said, this method was in vogue in a number of countries of the world and not only Pakistan. Kaira said the PPP leadership had not given any call to workers to come out and if given, no one will stay behind.  However, he said the PPP did not want to increase bitterness and was observing patience. He said the PPP leadership did not have any link with the fake accounts so the smear campaign must be shunned.

Citing the media conference of ministers held on Monday, Kaira said, “The government claims to have detected 5,000 fake accounts but we say these are not 5,000 but five lac operational in the country as the undocumented national economy is running through the same way. He also chided Prime Minister Imran Khan for his words of sending all to jail.  “This is a policeman-like attitude which the PM has adopted,” he said and added, “The government collects and provides evidence and it is the court of law which decides the cases and not the PM or the minister through media interaction.”

Answering questions, the PPP leader said that PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif was in custody while Mian Sb and Maryam Nawaz were silent. He said if quietness of Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz was due to sadness after the demise of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, then it means Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz were not in that gloomy state. He said, “That gloomy period should not be so long that state affairs calling for attention are neglected.” To a question about the PTI government, he said, the government was filled with such nincompoops that one asked for help and the other humiliated.  He said the PTI was not worth giving any NRO and added, Imran was still standing on the container. He said they had thought the government would carry through the tenure of six months but its downfall appeared before that period after coalition partners have torn apart.