LAHORE: In Lahore for a week, former president Asif Ali Zardari is to encounter ‘angry’ leaders who plan to speak out their sentiments against his ‘conciliatory tone’ which they deem damaging the party in Punjab.

During his meeting with party leaders during his stay at the Bilawal House, Bahria Town, Zardari will be told to review his party’s policy of ‘blindly’ supporting the PML-N government and listen to public sentiments.

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“Public sentiments are – go Nawaz go – and I will like to tell him this by chanting this slogan during my meeting with Zardari sahib,” PPP stalwart Firdous Ashiq Awan told Dawn.

Although she denied joining the Pakistan Tahreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Ms Awan said the PPP would have to play a real opposition otherwise the PTI would fill the space.

“I will tell Zardari sahib the PPP workers are perturbed over the party policy to become ‘B Team’ of the PML-N. The PTI is taking advantage of PPP’s silence over PML-N government’s anti-people policies,” she said, adding the PPP needed to confront the government and not a opposition party like the PTI.

“PPP workers want to get rid of the PML-N government as it has increased people’s miseries. Supporting the PML-N government amounts to supporting its anti-people policies and we should not do this,” she said.

Know more: PTI’s decision not good omen for democracy: Zardari

Ms Awan, who was the information minister in the last PPP regime, said the National Accountability Bureau’s investigation against her in a public welfare project was a joke.

“I’m being punished for speaking the truth,” she said.

Mr Zardari will also meet the Gondal family of Mandi Bahauddin.

Former federal minister Nazar Gondal, his younger brother former MPA Zulfiqar Gondal and former National Assembly public accounts committee chairman Nadeem Afzal Chan are reportedly weighing their option to quit the PPP after the Federal Investigation Agency last month arrested one of their family member, Zafar Gondal, in a case regarding irregularities in the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution (EOBI).

“We have grievances with the leadership,” Zulfiqar Gondal told Dawn.

He said former interior minister Rehman Malik initiated an inquiry against my brother (Zafar Gondal) with a “negative intention”.

“Despite making the EOBI a profitable unit, an unjust case was initiated against Zafar Gondal. Isn’t it strange the heads of profitable units Nadra and EOBI are in exile and behind the bars while nobody is bothered to investigate PIA, Steel Mills and Railways affairs as these organisations are running into huge losses,” he said.

Zulfiqar Gondal said his family had been with the PPP through thick and thin since the time of ZA Bhutto.

“We faced atrocities and also sacrificed lives but we remained with the PPP in difficult times,” he said, adding Nazar Gondal would discuss the matters with Mr Zardari in Lahore.

Mr Zardari during his stay will meet the party leaders, office-bearers and workers from Punjab.

“On Eid day Zardari sahib will meet party workers,” PPP Punjab Information Secretary Amer Raja told Dawn.

He said the party co-chairman would mobilise the workers for the Oct 18 rally to be held in Karachi.

“Four workers trains from Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Peshawar will leave for Karachi’s rally,” Mr Raja said, adding some 10,000 PPP workers from Lahore and elsewhere would participate in it.

While Zaradri is celebrating Eidul Azha in Lahore, Bilawal in Karachi, and Bhaktawar and Asefa in Larkana.

Published in Dawn, October 4th , 2014