Shehbaz asks Zardari to refrain from ‘derogatory’ remarks

PML-N president advises PPP co-chairman to work for the greater good of the country

LAHORE:

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif has termed Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman Asif Zardari’s statement regarding his party Quaid and elder brother Nawaz Sharif “unfortunate”, saying: “We should refrain from such remarks & work for the greater good of the country.”

On December 6, the former president while addressing a ceremony held in connection with NA-133 by-election results, where though the PPP lost but managed to massively increase its vote count, said that that a person who was not ready to breathe his last in Pakistan has no right in the decision-making process of the country.

The PPP co-chairman accused Sharif of “gerrymandering”, saying that Sharif altered constituencies during his tenure, which led to the fall of PPP in Punjab. "We will change these constituencies and fight them everywhere, in all neighbourhoods, as they are against Pakistan," Zardari said.

Read more: Zardari admits PPP's own setbacks cost it Punjab elections

Apparently, to keep the door of an in-house alliance against the government open, the PML-N leadership officially kept its silence over Zardari’s statement.

However, the PML-N eventually responded to it. In a social media post, Shehbaz wrote, “Zardari Sahib’s statement about Mian Nawaz Sharif was unfortunate. Mian Sahib’s unwavering commitment to Pakistan has always been unquestionable. Zardari sb knows the conditions in which MNS had to go abroad. We should refrain from such remarks & work for the greater good of the country.”

Zardari Sahib’s statement about Mian Nawaz Sharif is unfortunate. Mian Sahib’s unwavering commitment to Pakistan has always been unquestionable. Zardari sb. knows the conditions in which MNS had to go abroad. We should refrain from such remarks & work for greater good of country.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) December 9, 2021

This carefully worded response shows that the party has yet to decide its position regarding the PPP. The PPP has openly stated that befriending the PML-N had costed them heavily.

However, immediately after the NA-133 Lahore by-poll win, a video clip showing a PML-N leader using derogatory language against Zardari was doing the rounds on social media. The PML-N leader started off by saying that “money cannot buy the loyalty of the people of Lahore” and used further derogatory language later in the same clip.