23 May 2004	Sunday	03 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

ISLAMABAD, May 22: The jailed Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Asif Ali Zardari has predicted that the unified Pakistan Muslim League will break up soon after end of Gen Pervez Musharraf's rule.

Talking to reporters after appearing in an accountability court in Rawalpindi on Saturday, the PPP leader said those who were today joining the ruling PML on the directives of the establishment, would soon fight with each other after the end of Gen Musharraf's rule.

Mr Zardari said an effort was being made to combine those people together on one platform who had reached the power corridors through rigging and engineered elections.

The PPP leader said the government had illegally deported PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and now it was up to the Supreme Court to take notice of it. "Let's see what decision the Supreme Court will take now," Mr Zardari said.

He regretted that the government forcibly sent Shahbaz Sharif to Jeddah despite the fact that he possessed a Pakistani passport.

Expressing his concern over the poor law and order situation in Sindh, he said those police officers, who took part in the operation clean-up against "terrorists" in Karachi in 1992, were being targeted under a planned move. He also condemned attack on party's women parliamentarians during the by-polls in Karachi.

The PPP leader said the next federal budget would be a number game only and people would get no benefit out of it. He said there was no significance of federal budget for the common people, as the government was increasing prices of petroleum products after 15 days.

Mr Zardari expressed the hope that the peace process would move forward with the change of government in India. However, he said, for a better result of the peace efforts, there was a need that there should be democracy in Pakistan as well. He said actually the peace process started when former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Pakistan in 1988.