Malik Riaz a mere pawn of strategy that Zardari devised: Nisar

Nisar says Riaz cannot even breathe without Zardari’s consent; has evidence that the case was planned.

ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali said on Thursday that Malik Riaz was “a mere pawn of a conspiracy devised by President Asif Ali Zardari.”

Riaz, the business tycoon, is responsible for initiating the financial impropriety case against chief justice’s son, Dr Arsalan Iftikhar. He had alleged that he spent about Rs349.5 million on Dr Iftikhar’s foreign tours, while gave Rs326 million in cash to him on different occasions.

Nisar said, “A person [Riaz] comes and creates a scene -- somebody who should rather be behind the bars for his contradictory statements is inside and outside the court. He is a pawn. He cannot even breathe without Zardari’s consent.”

He said that he had evidence to prove this, but had not decided if he would reveal them.

“Nobody should have doubts that Riaz was launched in this conspiracy. It has been proven now.”

The opposition leader said that “no one feared the justice but Zardari and [Prime Minister Yousaf Raza] Gilani.”

He said that if Dr Iftikhar really had taken the money, then justice should be done to him and that it should be found out that who else has been taking money from him.

Nisar said that a decision-taking moment had come because the government had become “desperate” after being “incompetent” for a long period of time.

“Their character, their performance is now touching the limits of insanity,” he said. “They want to make a mockery of every institution.”

He appealed to the media, civil society and politicians that end dirty politics and asked the people to step up in order to guard institutions.