Establishment ill-treats public oriented parties: Zardari

PPP co-chairman says wants to see strong institutions fearing rise of fundamentalists

HYDERABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said the establishment has not treated well the public oriented political parties that brought development to Pakistan.

"In our history, the establishment has not treated well those who brought development to Pakistan and worked for betterment of the people and the land," the former president said while addressing the PPP workers in Kashmore-Kandhkot district on Saturday.

He said the more his party is suppressed, the stronger it will emerge. He gave examples of the two previous governments the PPP slain chairperson Benazir Bhutto formed after the PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s execution. “The PPP once again formed government after killing of Benazir,” he added.



He said the PPP sticks to its ideology of transferring resources to the provinces, districts and talukas. The process, he said, is advantageous for all and entails no harm.

"The gas fields [in Sindh] aren't mine. The companies working there have been brought by you [the establishment]. God willing one day Sindh will make its own company to extract gas."

He said the conceived company will work under the public-private partnership model like Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company and the local people will be the first beneficiaries. "I have no share in it. It isn't my business. You intrude into everything, be a petrol pump or a bakery. We don't do this."

However, he hastened to add that he and his party want the state institutions to be strong because if they get weak the religious fundamentalists might take over the country.

"We want you to remain [in the power] because we fear if you are no longer there then the religious extremists, whom you reared, may take over." He lamented that some institutions try to end political institutions. "What can I do, if you lack wisdom? You aren't willing to listen to or understand me."



He blamed the powers that be for obstructing the development work of the PPP provincial government by restricting movement of the PPP leaders.

"When I took bail from the court I submitted my passport. Then what's the need of putting my name on the ECL [Exit Control List]. But you like to create drama and you may keep doing this."

He recalled that similar allegations were levelled against him weeks before July 25 general elections. But, he said, the people of Sindh did not subscribe to the propaganda and voted for the PPP.

He praised Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto for initiating the nuclear and missile programmes because they envisioned that India might get a tactical advantage to the detriment of Pakistan. “See what's happening in Kashmir. This could have happened to us as well."

Taking a jibe at the judiciary, Zardari said population surge cannot be stopped through a decree and referred to religion which does not allow population control. He contended that the policymakers should rather plan to provide development and facilities to the people.

"Your population is not what you have shown in the census but it’s much higher," he added.

He said Karachi can grow tenfold economically. He criticised the tax collection methods of the incumbent government and claimed that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) worked better in the PPP's government from 2008 to 2013.

"It means your institutions and your government is the problem. You can bring anyone in the power but they won't be able to govern." He said even the financial support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE will have short term effects and will only provide some respite to the State Bank of Pakistan.

He said an institution often advised him when the PPP was in the centre to take input from the foreign office before making decisions. "I used to reply to them that I don't ask the foreign office. I tell them."