I blew the whistle on ROs first, says Zardari

Says we want Nawaz Sharif to improve the national economy and resolve the electricity crisis.

LAHORE:

Former president Asif Ali Zardari claimed on Friday that he was the first one to call the May 2013 vote an election of returning officers (ROs).

“If I would have refused to take oath [from Nawaz Sharif], Imran Khan and other parties would have joined us and a crisis would have emerged that could have wasted a whole year,” Zardari told Daily Express at Bilawal House.

“We will fight Nawaz Sharif on issues not on the seats, because we are not politicking for seats,” said the co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Zardari said Nawaz should get the opportunity to work for the progress of the country. “We want Nawaz Sharif to improve the national economy and resolve the electricity crisis,” he said.

He pointed out that the prime minister’s relations with the establishment were normal and improving.

Regarding Imran Khan, he said that the PTI chief uses “harsh and non-political language”, claiming that it was Shahbaz Sharif who started the trend. “Imran Khan, however, has taken the trend to new heights.” In stark contrast, he said, Nawaz is soft-spoken and courteous.

Zardari said that he never felt for a moment that the current political crisis could lead to a martial law. “I can tell, on the basis of my experience, when a martial law will be imposed,” he said. Martial law or not, the PPP leader said he was not among those fleeing the country.

Regarding the sit-ins, Zardari said that these would slowly fizzle out. People who have not seen mammoth rallies are awed by the huge gathering being held these days. “These sit ins and rallies will not bear any results,” he said.

On Bilawal Bhutto, Zardari’s reply was like any other father.

“The kids these days have a mind of their own,” he said adding, “Whatever the party policies are, Bilawal’s speeches are his own free thought.”

Youth are unlikely to follow every command of their father, he said, explaining that their family and politics both accommodate difference of opinion. “I never said anything bad about Altaf Hussain,” Zardari said, reiterating that Bilawal is free to express himself.

Regarding elections, he said that polls will be held when the opposition decides it is time for the ballot. “Bear in mind that in this system of democracy, we, the PPP, are the opposition and as per the Constitution we decide the time of elections and the formation of the caretaker government, and we will decide the time that suits us,” Zardari said.

On the meeting between the PPP co-chairman and the Chaudhries of Gujrat, Zardari said a very old enmity was put to rest.


Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2014.