16 April 2005	Saturday	06 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426

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HYDERABAD, April 15: Former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali has expressed a surprise over the government action to disallow a welcome to PPP leader Asif Zardari.

He was talking to a group of journalists at the residence of MPA Dr Irfan Gul Magsi where he had come to attend a marriage ceremony on Friday.

“I think everything is being done to boost personal image of Asif Zardari so that he can be made leader of the party in future”, said Mr Jamali.

“I am asking people as to what is happening now keeping in mind previous report of the government-PPP deal which was confirmed by none other than a government spokesman”, he said.

He said freedom should be given to every political party because the government’s own politicians were holding public meetings.

There was no harm if the PPP was allowed to have a political process and the rest should be left to people to decide, he said.

He said they would have to think in the interest of country and the rest of the issues were secondary.

About the Balochistan issue, he said he personally believed that President Gen Pervez Musharraf would decide in the interest of the province and country.

He said he believed a fruitful outcome of negotiations between Nawab Akbar Bugti and government in the larger interest of the country.

On the President’s visit to India, he claimed the process had begun on April 28, 2003 followed by successful holding of Saarc conference and leading to a breakthrough between relations of the two countries.

“Much of the ice has been melted because of personal contacts of President Musharraf, who possess a very strong image internationally”, he said.

Reply to a question about Indian Foreign Minister’s statement that India would not accept any change in its map; he said in international politics every 50 to 70 years there are changes in maps of the world.