September 07, 2008	Sunday	Ramazan 06, 1429

LAHORE, Sept 6: Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Qazi Husain Ahmed says Asif Ali Zardari has put himself to a hard test by getting himself elected as the president of Pakistan.

Commenting on the election of Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari as president, Qazi said not only Zardari but his party would suffer an irreparable loss in the event of his failure in the test.

He said Zardari was required to explain not only disposal of the cases pending against him under a deal with former president Pervez Musharraf but the source of $60 million in the bank account restored by the Swiss government.

He said Asif Ali Zardari was also required to clarify whether he would continue the policy of former president Pervez Musharraf regarding cooperation with the US in view of continued attacks of its forces on Pakistan’s territory.

The country was also faced with the problem of balance of payments as its foreign exchange reserves had reduced to 50 per cent and the poor people were finding the goings hard due to unprecedented inflation and non-availability of essential commodities.

He said Zardari had become a strong person by replacing Pervez Musharraf but he was also required to understand the demands of his new office. He was also required to restore the pre-1999 Constitution in accordance with the agreement between the PPP and the PML-N which would solve the problem of 58 (2) b.

He said the people also expected Zardari of prosecuting Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution for causing irreparable damage to the judiciary and the armed forces and `mortgaging’ the sovereignty of Pakistan. They also expected restoration of Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Khalilur Rehman in accordance with their seniority through an executive order in view of the fact that the Nov 3 action of Musharraf was unconstitutional. The nation would congratulate Zardari in case he succeeded in meeting all the tests.