Former president Asif Ali Zardari, Co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), said on Saturday he and the party had supported the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in the ongoing political battle to save democracy.
He was speaking to PPP workers and office-bearers at Bilawal House. PPP workers from Lahore and southern Punjab met the former president separately to discuss party affairs.
“Many workers seemed unhappy about the PPP’s support for the PML-N and shared their dismay with Zaradri,” said a PPP office-bearer after attending the meeting.
“Zardari sahib addressed their apprehensions. He said he had sided with the PML-N for the sake of democracy,” he told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity.
He said the former president was committed to reorganising the PPP in the Punjab. “He said he would restore the party to its traditional strength in the province.”
“Zardari said he had built Bilawal House in Lahore so that he could remain in touch with party leaders and workers in the province,” he said.
“Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Siraul Haq told me that flags of only two parties were seen in his village – the JI and the PPP. The PPP is the largest political party in the country. It enjoys mass support from Kashmir in the north to small river islands in Sindh,” the party official quoted Zardari as saying.
“Referring to Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan, Zardari said their kids were foreign nationals and that they were making space for them… our kids have to live in this country,” another PPP member present at the meeting said.
He said the PPP co-chairman invited PPP office-bearers’ recommendations for reorganising and strengthening the party.
PPP Lahore information secretary Faisal Mir said when PPP workers went to Karachi to join a rally, they should be provided some printed material on the party’s ideology so that they could share it with more and more people.
“Zardari assured workers that he would reorganise the PPP in the province. He said he favoured reconciliation and tolerance on politics,” Mir told The Express Tribune.
Senior vice president Zahid Zulfiqar expressed concern over the PPP’s reconciliation policy towards the PML-N.
During his meeting with party workers and office-bearers from southern Punjab, Zardari vowed to take all-out steps to restore its stature in the region.
“The co-chairman told us he would once again make southern Punjab a stronghold of the party,” a part official said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2014.
COMMENTS (12)
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Zardari is buying time so that his son is ready and mature enough to compete 2018 elections. This is a turn by turn deal between PPP & Sharifs.
No, to save lootocracy!
"Referring to Tahirul Qadri and Imran Khan, Zardari said their kids were foreign nationals and that they were making space for them… our kids have to live in this country"
WOW!!! Did he forget about Bilawal Bhutto? Where does he stay nowadays?
Powerful Islamic Republic Of Pakistan has become powerless in the community of nations due to it's VIP Culture Dictatorial People like Zardari or Nawaz, it happened the same other countries like Nicaragua under Zamossa, Iran time of the Shah, in Hindustan under congress party, the time has come to take change in Ir Pakistan a country with more than 200-millions of Populations must take its due role, with no clean water to drink, no schools for at least 10-millions of childrens, education under foreign language, peoples has been denied their own language, no Justice, no health care, the 1st country where children died lake of food, water, health, no healthcare for mothers, no trains!, no electricity, no work, what solutions are available? change of political System of course, Go Zardari Go, Go Nawaz Go
Party Duty: People's Party backed Nawaz to save its own skin.
This is a joke going around for the last six years and all corrupt men and women repeat it day in and day out.
democracy means NAB cases.
PPP "backed Nawaz" to save its' own hide and to perpetuate a system whereby looters take turns robbing the nation for 5 years each, and in return they will turn a blind eye towards each other. Nawaz played the "friendly opposition" role and it's PPP's payback time now. Unfortunately people have wised up and they are asking themselves as to why in the last 30 years they have become poorer and Nawaz & Zardari Enterprises have become billionaires.
Yes we all know what kind of 'democracy' he's talking about. Go Nawaz Go. Go Muk-muka Go.
Zardari said he supported Nawaz in name of democracy which is regrettable because each one knows that elections were rigged so which democracy he is defending is beyond comprehension. Iqbal Hadi Zaidi
PTI the good. ANP the bad, PMLN the ugly and PPP the ugliest
yeah sure PPP-Nawaz group ;-)