ISLAMABAD - PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari Thursday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government had been given enough time and warned the Pakistan People’s Party will launch a movement against the rulers along with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
Speaking at a news conference after the National Accountability Bureau arrested Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, Zardari claimed that the government had isolated Pakistan in the world.
“Enough is enough. We will launch a movement against the government along with the other parties including the PML-N. In summers you might have to sell your car to pay the electricity bill if this government continues (with its policies),” he said.
To a question, he said the PPP would also support Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s anti-government movement and will never strike a deal with the rulers.
Zardari said the government even did not know the diplomatic norms as they used a minister to tweet the decision that opposition would not be invited to the dinner in honour of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Laden over the weekend.
“They (the government) claimed the opposition is not eligible to be invited. In fact the PTI is not eligible to rule. They have failed in all sectors. We welcomed the Crown Prince (of Saudi Arabia) in Pakistan. We also want friendly ties with all other countries,” he said.
Asked about the Memorandums of Understanding with Saudi Arabia worth billions of dollars, he said: “The MoUs are only ‘would be’ ‘could be’ ‘should be’. The reality is that this government has isolated the country.”
The PPP leader said Pakistan and Iran must hold a dialogue to remove the misunderstandings. “If Iran has any misunderstandings they should contact Pakistan. There should be talks. Look out, do we have any friend among the world,” he added.
Zardari said his party was behind the close ties with China and will support further engagement with Beijing.
He strongly condemned arrest of Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani by the NAB saying it was tantamount to challenging the democracy.
He said the PPP leaders were not afraid as they have seen imprisonment in past as well, adding the NAB law must be amended for transparent accountability. Zardari said he himself and the other PPP leaders respected the courts and would face the cases.
He congratulated PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif on getting bail from the court. On the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss review petitions in the fake accounts case, Zardari said: “PPP has always accepted the court decisions and wants to strengthen institutions. In our tenure we had raised salaries of the judges. There are several good judges. We will face the NAB inquiry and if we are sent to jail, you know that has always been my second home.”
The former president said the government had claimed they would never go to the International Monetary Fund but they took a U-turn again.
Zardari asked the government to label him as a ‘traitor’ instead of making petty allegations. “They should come up with a bigger case against me. They should not accuse me of stealing this and that,” he contended.
On the tension with India after the Pulwama attack that killed several Indian soldiers, the PPP leader said a similar situation had arisen when he was the President. “We compelled India to back down and handled it through diplomatic channels,” he said, referring to the Mumbai attacks in 2008.
He criticised the government for mishandling the situation with India. “Back street drivers do not understand politics, which is why this issue keeps on escalating.”
He warned India against any misadventure saying: “Rest assured that if India commits any misadventure they will find the entire nation united. PPP will stand with the armed forces.”
PPP Vice President Sherry Rehman, Nayyar Bokhari, Nafisa Shah, Farhatullah Babar, Palwasha Khan and others were also present during the news conference.