Clearing the air: Rashid says politics of victimisation dead and buried

Nawaz to convey personal assurance to PPP co-chairman

ISLAMABAD/ KARACHI:

Reacting to Asif Ali Zardari’s outburst against the ruling party, Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid said on Monday that the “PML-N does not believe in politics of victimisation”.

“The word victimisation does not exist in the political dictionary of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” he said while speaking to the media. “The politics of the 1990s has been buried for ever and it will remain so,” he added. “Politics of vengeance is not possible in the presence of an independent and vibrant judiciary and other strong institutions.”

The minister said Zardari commanded respect as former president of the country and co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and that his statement might be the result of some misunderstanding. “All this confusion is the result of a communication gap. Time will prove that the PM does not know the word ‘revenge’ and Zardari will come to accept this.”

Rashid said the premier has sought the details of Dr Asim Hussain’s case. “After my media talk, any confusion within the PPP should have ended.” He claimed that since the PML-N came to power, it had not initiated or registered any politically motivated case against anyone.

No case against Zardari

The Express Tribune has learnt that Premier Nawaz has decided to provide Zardari his personal assurance that the government was not interested in taking action against him.

Through some of his trustworthy aides, Nawaz would soon convey his message to Zardari along with his personal guarantee, according to sources.

Sources said the premier sees Zardari’s statement as a pre-emptive strategy to stop the government from initiating any case against Zardari or taking any action against him.



They said Nawaz was also planning to convey to Zardari that if Dr Asim is found innocent, then he would be released after expiry of his 90-day remand. “The premier wants to ask Zardari what he expects from the government,” said a source. “Does he want us to stop the Karachi operation or redirect it for giving someone special treatment?”

Sources said Nawaz held discussions on Monday with senior PML-N leaders at the Prime Minister House, where he was informed that the Sindh Rangers had taken the federal government into confidence before arresting Dr Asim.

Baloch meets Shah

Meanwhile, Federal Minister Abdul Qadir Baloch met Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah and conveyed to him a special message from the premier.

Sources said Shah expressed reservations over the FIA raids in Sindh leading to the arrests of senior PPP leaders, including Dr Asim. The chief minister accused the FIA of harassing provincial government officers by conducting raids without informing him. Baloch told him that he would inform the prime minister of the Sindh government’s reservations.

“The Karachi operation was initiated with the consensus of all the political parties and it is not against any specific party.”

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 1^st, 2015.