ISLAMABAD - A six-member EU Exploratory Mission called on former President Asif Ali Zardari here on Thursday and discussed issues relating to election observers to witness the forthcoming general election in the country.
The EU exploratory mission from Brussels is on a visit to Pakistan to meet various stakeholders ahead of the general election.
Besides the Islamabad based EU Ambassador Francois Cautain, the mission members included Nicolay Paus, Ann Vanhout, Hannah Roberts, Clom Vincent, Pierre Michel and Elisa Tesselli.
Zardari was assisted by Nayyer Bokhari, Syed Naveed Qamar, Sherry Rehman and Farhatullah Babar.
Welcoming the delegation, Zardari said that electoral laws had recently been amended with a consensus to ensure free and fair elections and what was the need now was to ensure that the elections were held strictly in accordance with the amended electoral laws. “The election observers missions, therefore, have an important role to play and the Pakistan People’s Party welcomed them,” he said.
Zardari said that the amended electoral laws recognized the important role played by election monitors and hoped that the EU observers and other monitoring missions will also come to observe the elections and give their reports.
He said that the PPP benefited from the report of the last EU election observers mission in finalizing its recommendations for amendments to electoral laws. The former president said that he had described the 2013 elections as “returning officers’ elections” but the party accepted its results for the sake of continuity of democratic process.
Zardari said that it was important that the observers’ mission comprised of a larger contingent including women and also visited polling stations in far-flung areas on the election day.
Other issues relating to the holding of free and free elections also came under discussion, said a PPP statement.
Later, Senator Rehman said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz only spoke about principles when they were in trouble.
“The problem with N-League’s politics is that they only invoke principle or democracy when they need it for personal bailouts,” she said.
Otherwise, she said, “its phone calls to Justice Abdul Qayyum to fix cases against the PPP, or black coats in the Supreme Court against PPP’s elected government. What goes around comes around.”
Separately, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari said that the verdict of Supreme Court must be respected and any clash with institutions will be harmful to democracy.
Speaking to party delegations at the PPP Central Secretariat, he said that former premier Nawaz Sharif was treading the path of the clash which was dangerous for the system. “Nawaz Sharif is reaping what he had sowed for decades,” he said.
Bukhari said that the PML-N and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf both were promoting intolerance in politics which was a poison for the society and the country.
“Politics needs tolerance and civilized society. The PPP believes in democratic norms and principles,” he said.