KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party dissociated itself from former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza on Tuesday and termed his latest diatribe against party chief Asif Ali Zardari a result of “some personal grudge”.

“The party doesn’t own him [Dr Mirza] anymore if he can’t trust the leadership,” Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon told a press conference here.

“He should be ashamed of the way he used abusive language against our leaders and senior party members. His future with the party would be decided by the leadership.”

Mr Memon, who is also the central deputy information secretary of the PPP, strongly criticised Dr Mirza for levelling what he described as baseless accusations against former president Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur.

He said both of them had “sacrificed everything” to reorganise the party after the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi on Dec 27, 2007.

“This is not about differences based on ideology and policies. This is a result of some personal grudge and Zulfikar Mirza chose to vent his anger through the media rather than complaining to the party leadership,” said Mr Memon.

He ruled out any differences between Mr Zardari and his son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Referring to Mr Bilawal’s recent tweets from London, he said: “Zulfikar Mirza should read these messages carefully. It’s for him and let me tell him that one should not attempt to disorganise the party for personal gains.”

Mr Bilawal-Bhutto had said in his tweets that there were no differences in the party. “The PPP stands united, anyone claiming otherwise and speaking against the leadership is no friend of the party,” he said in one of his tweets. “Et tu Brutus?” another tweet apparently related to Dr Mirza’s tirade against the party.

In response to a question about the custody of proscribed Peoples Amn Committee chief Uzair Jan Baloch, who was recently arrested in Dubai, the information minister said that the government was pursuing the case in line with the defined law and he would brought to the country very soon.

“He [Uzair Baloch] is a criminal and he has no association with the PPP,” he said. “The PPP would not tolerate any pressure to delay his custody. A criminal associated with any party should be treated as a criminal and he should not enjoy any concession only for that reason.”

Referring to a recent meeting of the apex committee jointly chaired by the prime minister and the army chief here, he said the political and military leadership enjoyed coordination and understanding for a joint strategy to combat terrorism.

He said that Mr Zardari had proposed that a representative each from the army and Rangers should be made member of the selection board for the recruitment and appointment of good policemen and officers. “The chief minister has assured the army chief of his cooperation in this regard,” added Mr Memon.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2015

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