Zardari warns of dire repercussions for ‘politics of vengeance’

KARACHI: Reacting to recent actions against his party by the federal institutions in Sindh, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said PM Nawaz Sharif has reverted to politics of 90s.

Expressing his resentment over the actions taken by Rangers, NAB and FIA, he said in a statement that Sharif had not learnt anything from the past, warning him of dire consequences for what he termed ‘politics of vengeance’.

The former president of Pakistan said that despite the fact that 2013 elections were controversial, they accepted it for the sake of continuation of democracy in the country.

The 2013 elections were the elections of ROs (returning officers) and the fact has been endorsed by the recent verdicts of the election tribunals.

“The decisions just announced by the Tribunals have proved our point that the PML-N received outside help and was made to win the elections.”

The PPP leader in the statement issued from London, further said: “At a time when our innocent citizens were being killed by indiscriminate bombing in border villages by the enemy; when Pakistani Army is fighting a decisive war against the terrorists and also fighting at our borders, Mian Nawaz Sharif, instead of challenging the real enemy, is targeting People’s Party and other political opponents.”

Zardari alleged the premier of dividing the nation by what he called ‘influencing the ongoing anti-terror operation’.

The former president said that the steps being taken by the government clearly indicates that they were dividing the nation in an attempt to save their ‘natural allies Taliban and the terrorists’ and weaken the war against terror.

He said the PPP stands fully with the Pakistan Army in the ongoing war against terrorism. “We salute our jawans (brave soldiers) who have given ultimate sacrifice in this war,” he added.

Zardari went on to say that first Qasim Zia and son of Senator Bangash were arrested and now Dr Asim has been arrested.

“Immediately after that warrants for arrests for former Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who is ill, has also been issued.

Bureaucrats in Sindh are being harassed by the FIA and NAB. The Chief Secretary of Sindh is on bail. All this unmistakably presents a clear pattern of political harassment and revenge.”

The PPP Co-Chairman added that by doing so Sindh has been immobilized, under the direct orders from the Prime Minister House.

The former president further said that despite emergence of a video, in which Punjab Minister Rana Mashhood is seen receiving money on behalf of Mian brothers, no arrests have been made as yet.

Asif Zardari said the Pakistan People’s Party was a party of fearless followers who cannot be defeated by the threat of executions, lashing or imprisonment.

“It seems Nawaz Sharif has not learnt any lessons from the past. We are not the ones who fled to Jeddah after seeking pardon. The nation very well knows that the ‘honour’ of applying for pardon by any politician in the country only belongs to Mian Nawaz Sharif.”

Claiming credit for Nawaz Sharif being the Prime Minister and Shahbaz Sharif the Punjab Chief Minister, he said it was the People’s Party that lifted the ban that paved way for the mentioned to become Prime Minister and the Chief Minister for the third time.

Calling actions being taken by the federal agencies in Sindh as clear violation of the Constitution, Zardari said if they want to conduct fair accountability, then they should first take action against a Federal Minister who has given a confessional statement before a magistrate that he had been involved in money-laundering for the Sharif-brothers.

“Only then we will know how clean the followers of the N-league are,” he added.

He demanded that the report of Justice Najafi on Model Town killing should be made public and all involved in this gruesome murder of innocent people be arrested. He also demanded that all characters involved in the Asghar Khan case should also be apprehended.

“Are not those who killed 14 people, including women in the Model Town tragedy, terrorists? Why are they not being arrested?,” Zardari questioned. He said that this ‘dark night of injustice’ will end very soon.