‘Govt has failed to deal with key challenges’

PPP workers mark Asif Ali Zardari’s birthday

LAHORE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif does not have the vision to deal with key challenges facing Pakistan, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and former Punjab governor Makhdoom Syed Ahmed Mehmood said on Wednesday.

He was addressing a ceremony held at Bilawal House, Lahore to celebrate the 61st birthday of former president Asif Ali Zardari.

“Imran Khan is a celebrity. He will remain that way, but will never be a politician. Asif Ali Zardari is the only politician capable of projecting Pakistan’s image as a tolerant country in the world,” he said.

This ceremony was organised by Bashir Riaz, a senior adviser to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Aurangzeb Burki, the Bilawal House Lahore coordinator.

Mehmood said that all mainstream political parties, including the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), were dominated by conservatives.

“Their ideologies are the main reason behind the rising fundamentalism and extremism in Pakistan. The PPP is the only political party that champions the rights of women, minorities, labourers and peasants,” he said. He said that Zardari was the first major politician who had stood up to extremists. “It was during the PPP government’s tenure that Swat was retaken from the Taliban. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has taken a clear stance against terrorism. The National Action Plan is exactly what Bilawal has been campaigning for,” he said.

He said that politicians from smaller provinces were not being given adequate coverage by the media. He said that the government had failed to deliver.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th, 2016.