05 November 2004	Friday	21 Ramazan 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: The People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) has demanded of the higher judiciary, national and international human rights organizations and patriotic democratic forces to play their role and raise their voice for the immediate release of Asif Ali Zardari.

Speaking at a news conference on the completion of eight years in jail of Asif Ali Zardari here on Thursday, Senator Farooq Naek, Senator Dr Safdar Ali Abbassi, MNA Naheed Khan and MPA Shafqat Abbassi paid rich tributes to Mr Zardari for his struggle for the cause of democracy.

Giving a brief history, Farooq Naek said Mr Zardari was arrested on November 4, 1996 in Lahore under 16 MPO. He said when his arrest was challenged in Lahore courts, he was shifted to Karachi. Later, Mr Naek said, eight accountability references were filed against Mr Zardari. He said only one case against Mr Zardari reached the Supreme Court as a result of which two judges had to go home.

He alleged that the government had even changed many laws only to implicate Mr Zardari in "false and fabricated cases." He said the government had been trying to blackmail Mr Zardari by keeping him as a hostage.

He appealed to the chief justice of the Supreme Court to hear the bail petition of Mr Zardari in the BMW reference at the earliest as this was the only case in which Mr Zardari had not been given bail.

Mr Naek said several national and international human rights organizations had also raised voice against the injustice being meted out to Mr Zardari. He said the Inter- Parliament Union (IPU) had even written a letter to the Supreme Court that Mr Zardari should be released if no charges had been proved against him even after keeping him in prison for so many years.

About the SGS case, Mr Naek accused the government of Pakistan of "exploiting the Swiss judicial system to set scores with Benazir Bhutto." He said the SGS case was only being investigated and it had not reached the court. The only difference, he said, was that in Pakistan, police investigated the cases while in Switzerland, magistrates had the responsibility of investigations.

MPA Shafqat Abbasi said Asif Zardari had spent 2,920 days in jail. He said Mr Zardari had spent 16 Eids in jail and during his imprisonment, his several close relatives had died.

Senator Dr Safdar Abbassi said the government was behind two individuals with full military might and using full international contacts to defame them.

Naheed Khan said the government wanted to blackmail Ms Bhutto by keeping Mr Zardari in jail. She said the government wanted from Ms Bhutto that she should quit politics. She asked the judges to make decisions on the basis of their conscience.

Meanwhile, in a statement, PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto condemned the regime's "political vendetta" and paid glowing tributes to Mr Zardari.

Ms Bhutto said Asif Zardari had written a new chapter in the history of political struggle by enduring all hardships but refusing to compromise on principles.

Given the permissible remissions, according to jail manual, she said Mr Zardari had already completed the maximum term of life imprisonment behind bars without being convicted.

She said by refusing to succumb Mr Zardari and his supporters had defeated those anti-people forces who felt no shame in targeting the spouse for political ends. "The continued incarceration of Asif Zardari by the rulers betrays an abysmal lack of integrity and is a dark stain on the perpetrators of the crime against him," she said.

She said the long years of imprisonment had stolen the youth, health and family life from Asif Zardari, who had developed high blood pressure, diabetes, spondylitis, tumours and recently a prostrate ailment, all due to stressful conditions and lack of proper medical treatment.

The former prime minister said no one could give back to Asif the time he could have spent with his mother before she left this world, the time he could have spent with his children as they grew from infants into teenagers or the time he could spend with his father who is now in his 70s. "Even his young nephew died in a tragic accident. Prison bars separated Asif, the only son, from giving a shoulder to his traumatised sister when she needed a brother's love and help the most," she said.

She said the regime was spreading false propaganda that some sort of underhand deal was being struck with the PPP so as to demoralize the people and divert attention from its ugly actions and injustices against Asif Zardari.

Ms Bhutto said there was no question of any underhand deal with the dictators or compromising on the principles. She said the laws of nature in their own fashion and truth always triumphs in the end.