Amid a celebratory national mood following Pakistan’s military success against India at the borders, senior PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, without naming PTI, said it was high time to bridge the political divide. He advised Khan’s party to make amends and called on the government to adopt a policy of forgiveness.
At the same press conference, PPP Central Punjab General Secretary Syed Hasan Murtaza, taking a swipe at Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari for crediting Nawaz Sharif with war planning, said that “at least one should lie within some limits”. He said repeated lies, if not publicly exposed, begin to sound like the truth.
Murtaza asserted that the real credit for making Pakistan’s defence invincible belonged to the PPP leadership. “If there’s any one party that had a role in strengthening Pakistan’s defence — from signing the MoU for the JF-17 to building heavy industries, from weapons to tanks, planes to missiles — it’s the PPP,” he said.
He credited both the late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the late Benazir Bhutto, claiming that Bhutto launched Pakistan’s atomic programme, a decision that ultimately cost him his life. “Anyone can blow up a bomb and take credit for it.”
Murtaza asserted that other parties could at best take credit for merely continuing the defence programmes initiated by PPP governments. "Others should try to lay claims to their achievement by posting photos," he added. He also took a jibe at Rana Sanaullah for "falsely claiming that the war was over on May 7”.
He said that if the prime minister claims credit for downing six planes, then he should also take responsibility for the seventh — the "Adiala aircraft," which he described as a creation of India’s Modi and Israel’s Netanyahu.
Earlier, while commenting on the Indo-Pak conflict, Qamar Zaman Kaira, a member of the PPP central executive committee, said that despite India’s jingoism, it would eventually have to come to the negotiating table.
He stressed that lasting peace in the region is not possible without resolving the Kashmir issue. “India should implement its plebiscite promise to the Kashmiri nation and leadership,” he said, adding that PPP wants the matter settled through negotiations.
Addressing the media at the residence of PPP Central Punjab Deputy General Secretary Usman Malik — alongside Syed Hasan Murtaza, Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed and Chaudhry Aslam Gul — Kaira said that the PPP united a broken country.
He said: "Bhutto laid the foundation of a strong defence system and heavy chemical complex. JF-17 Thunder is being built in this HMC. Bibi Shaheed brought missile technology to Pakistan. Asif Zardari revived Pak-China friendship as president."
He added that China now supports Pakistan both financially and defensively: "The work started by Bhutto Shaheed was completed by Asif Zardari, while Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, as foreign minister, fought for Pakistan’s cause like his grandfather and mother."
The former federal minister stated that despite being a major victim of terrorism, "we want to cooperate in ending it." He said, "This is not a war of credit. Bhutto had created a broken country and a defeated nation. Instead of erasing someone's line, I should follow my own line."
Kaira stressed that, to create a lasting sense of unity, "the country’s political parties, alluding to PTI, should do introspection and seek forgiveness, and the government and institutions should also adopt a policy of forgiveness”.
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