Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), despite dismissing rumours surrounding President Asif Ali Zardari’s removal, appeared unnerved by the frequency with which such speculation reached mainstream media.
Some within the party sensed a hidden agenda behind the back-to-back discussions regarding the president’s future. The latest of these stray rumours suggested that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Nawaz Sharif desired to become the president of Pakistan.
The rumour was raised during a talk show on a private TV channel and put before PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui, who dismissed it as a fabricated story. However, he clarified that no position in politics is absolute: “We today cannot comment on what might happen tomorrow.”
“There was a time when it was inconceivable to think that Asif Zardari would become the president of the country,” Siddiqui added. He maintained that Nawaz Sharif harbours no such ambition and that the matter has never been discussed.
This was the second time such rumours had made their way onto the airwaves. Earlier, there were strong rumours suggesting that the army chief aspired to become president and that Zardari’s departure from office was imminent. According to sources close to Zardari, these reports had perturbed the president.
A party leader, who interacted with Zardari during those days, said that although party leaders called the rumours baseless, Zardari viewed them as "smoke that is never without fire." He was reportedly uneasy and sought clarity on the matter. On both occasions, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi publicly denied the speculations.
PPP Central Secretary of Information Nadeem Afzal Chan, speaking to The Express Tribune, said there was no truth to the unfounded media speculation. He emphasised that removing the president was no "walk in the park."
“There is a strenuous constitutional mechanism that must be followed to impeach the president. As things stand, even if there is any such desire within the PML-N, they simply do not have the teeth to do it,” he said.
Chan added that PML-N leaders should refrain from reminding the president of his constitutional limits. “Because when the PPP takes them up on that offer and holds a mirror to them, they will start whimpering.”
A PPP leader said there was a premeditated effort to keep the party under pressure. “It has happened one too many times to ignore these as the afterthoughts of desperate attention seekers,” he said. “If anyone thinks that the PPP will budge from its position, they are badly mistaken.”
He speculated that either the PML-N or Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi could be behind the rumours. “Naqvi has big ambitions, and to get to his goal, nothing is off limits,” he alleged.
Attempts were made to reach Senator Irfan Siddiqui for comment, but they proved unsuccessful.
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