Prospects of rejoining PDM dim, says Zardari

Former president granted pre-arrest bail in New York property case

ISLAMABAD:

Former president and co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said the prospects of rejoining the multi-party alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) were dim.
Speaking to media persons after getting a pre-arrest bail in the New York Property case, the former president said that although the decision about whether or not the party would join the PDM not yet taken, the chances of the PPP becoming a part of the PDM again were rather slim.

Referring to the anti-government alliance’s long march towards Islamabad scheduled to be held on March 23, Zardari recalled that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who also leads the PDM, has also held similar marches in the past. The comments by the former president came a day after a meeting between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and the PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was held in Islamabad.

Read: Shehbaz asks Zardari to refrain from ‘derogatory’ remarks

During the meeting, both parties agreed to launch anti-government protests to send the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) packing. The meeting was organised after PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif agreed to an in-house change. Speaking about the PTI government, Zardari said he was against the PTI government from the very first day. He said he was hopeful about in-house change as well. In a reference to the PTI, he said the government is made up of "imprudent individuals" who are not fit to rule and this has now been proved by recent history.

According to the PPP co-chairman, the government cannot do anything to facilitate people.
 

Pre-arrest bail
Prior to speaking to the media, Zardari appeared before the accountability court that granted pre-arrest bail to the former president in New York City property inquiry initiated by National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The order stated that the anti-graft watchdog could not arrest Zardari at the current state of inquiry proceedings. However, it added, that the bureau was required to approach the court to secure an order for the arrest, should it need to arrest the former president at the inquiry stage. AC-I Judge Muhammad Bashir reserved the decision earlier after listening to arguments and later accepted the petition.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari appeared before the court along with his counsel Farouk H. Naek.
At the outset of the hearing, the petitioner's lawyer said that the NAB had stated that no arrest warrants had been issued against his client so far. He, however, said that chairman NAB could issue an arrest warrant at any stage of the inquiry.

The NAB's prosecutor said the department had not issued an arrest warrant against the accused. Zardari's lawyer also submitted the medical reports of his client and requested the court to grant him permanent bail in the above case.

(With input from APP)