Zardari advises PM Imran to ‘resign and go home’

Incarcerated former president says accountability must begin from Musharraf’s era instead of just last 10 years

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who is currently detained in the fake bank accounts case, has advised his political rival Prime Minister Imran Khan to "resign and go home", claiming the cricketer-turned-politician is not equipped for running the country’s affairs.

He made the remarks during an informal interaction with the media at a court hearing in Islamabad on Friday.

The former president said Imran Khan does not choose his words carefully while issuing statements. “He used to say that he would shoot himself but won’t join politics, then claimed he would prefer suicide over going to IMF for a loan, and now he is claiming that the country’s economy has strengthened.”

The PPP stalwart added: “Have people got pay raises?… During my tenure, everyone used to get pay raises and all officers were happy with the government’s performance.”

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Commenting on Premier Imran’s plan of forming a ‘high-powered’ inquiry commission to probe the rise in the country’s foreign debts during the previous two governments, Zardari said the probe should be carried out of the last 20 years if it cannot begin from 1947.

“If they [PTI government] don’t want to demean national leaders from the past, then the probe must at least begin from the Musharraf’s tenure,” he added.

Responding to a question, the seasoned politician linked passage of the budget bill in parliament with BNP chief Akhtar Mengal’s decision on the opposition’s offer of joining hands with them.

The former president was also seen lighting a cigarette in the court room. He was also given a sandwich brought by PPP leader Rukhsana Bangash.

Zardari undergoes 'routine check-up' at Rawalpindi hospital

Strict security measures were taken around the special court and all adjoining roads were closed for all traffic during the hearing.

Zardari, who has been under the National Accountability Bureau’s custody on an 11-day physical remand, was arrested by the anti-corruption watchdog on Monday hours after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) recalled the pre-arrest bail granted to him and his sister Faryal Talpur in the fake accounts case.

The co-chairman of the PPP was taken into NAB custody from his residence in the federal capital and was taken to the NAB Rawalpindi office.