March 19, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 15, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 18: The Pakistan People’s Party on Tuesday condemned the government for denying parole plea of incarcerated former senator Asif Ali Zardari, who wanted to be beside his ailing mother-in-law, Nusrat Bhutto, when she had to undergo a life threatening surgery in Dubai.

“No greater cruelty than this could be shown to the widow of the former prime minister who strengthened the defence of the country and raised the morale of the people when it lay shattered in the wake of shameless surrender in Dhaka in 1971,” former minister Naseerullah Babar said in a statement.

“Begum Bhutto is also a former federal minister, whose contribution to the uplift of women and downtrodden sections of society is a matter of record. She is also the mother of Benazir Bhutto, the twice elected prime minister of Pakistan who strengthened the country’s defence by giving it the missile technology.

“In the absence of any male member of the Bhutto family in Dubai, the parole on humanitarian grounds was a matter of right of Asif Zardari,” he said.

He said that according to the certificate issued by the Iranian Hospital where Begum Bhutto was admitted, it was a risky operation keeping in view her age (73 years), cardiac and other conditions. She was still in the intensive care unit of the hospital and would remain there under close observation according to the certificate, he said.

“For the government to claim that parole was denied because Begum Bhutto was well and at home is a cruel lie fabricated by those who are mortally afraid of the ghost of Bhuttos,” he said.