PPP says no to early polls, national govt

Spokesperson admits party’s performance in NA-120 alarming for the leadership

LAHORE: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has rejected proposals for a national government and demanded that general elections are held as per schedule.

PPP central spokesperson Chaudhry Manzoor told the media on Monday after meeting PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari at Bilawal House that his party was not in favour of early polls or a national government.

“The PPP wants the elections to be held under a caretaker government and on the already proposed time,” he added.

He said that the PPP co-chairperson was having meetings with party leaders to formulate a strategy for the next elections as the party’s performance in the recent NA-120 by-election was at an all-time low “which is alarming our leadership”.

Quoting Zardari, Manzoor said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was trying to sabotage the entire system just to hide its corruption and avoid accountability. He went on to say that unlike the PPP, the ruling party was confronting state institutions.

He said the PPP leadership faced courts even despite ‘fraudulent’ cases, adding that it was time for the PML-N to face the courts, but deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif was trying to attack the judiciary instead.

“The PPP supports the politics of reconciliation only to strengthen democracy, and it will not support Nawaz,” he said.

The PPP leader said former petroleum minister Dr Asim Husain’s wife was suffering from third-stage cancer, but he still faced the courts and remained in jail for over 17 months.



On the other hand, the ruling family was using Kulsoom Nawaz’s illness as a pretext to delay accountability. First Nawaz was not present for his hearing and later, Maryam Nawaz did not show up, he said, calling them delaying tactics.

Criticising PTI chief Imran Khan, the PPP spokesperson said Khan was promoting vulgarity and foul language in politics.

PPP co-chairperson Zardari also met Nadeem Afzal Chan, Samina Khalid Ghurki, Naveed Chaudhry, Faisal Mir, Khurram Latif Khosa, Amir Hassan, Suhail Malik and Zahid Zulfiqar.