KARACHI: Former home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza, considered the most vocal critic of Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, on Wednesday said that his [Mr Zardari’s] hard-hitting remarks against the establishment were nothing short of political suicide in his desperate attempt to terrorise the army.

“I have already recited the kalima. By using such [harsh] words, Mr Zardari has invited a huge trouble, which could culminate in the form of a grave punishment to him,” said Dr Mirza while speaking at a press conference at his DHA residence.

Know more: Zardari cautions military establishment for 'stepping out of domain'

He was of the view that the by attacking the establishment, Mr Zardari might have contemplated being jailed and gaining public sympathies to “rub off all the criminal acts he had committed during his clique’s rule over Sindh”.

“The party of [Zulfikar Ali] Bhutto, which even General Ziaul Haq could not eliminate has now been irreparably damaged by Bhutto’s son-in-law. Sindh has been plundered to the worst level and the ruling elite have smashed all previous records of corruption,” he said.

To Mr Zardari’s claim that he could shut the entire country on a single call, Dr Mirza said: “Not a single market in even Larkana will be shut on his call, let alone the entire country.”

He said the upcoming local government elections would conveniently show where the popular support resided. He said he would not give up his struggle to unmask the corrupt elements. “I am going abroad for a few weeks to attend to my ailing spouse and will return with the same zeal,” he said.

BADIN: Earlier, he spoke to a group of journalists during his visit to a village near Rahuki late on Tuesday evening and also issued a statement to Dawn on Wednesday to condemn the former president’s tirade against the establishment.

He described Mr Zardari’s harsh criticism of the establishment and strongly-worded warning to it against alleged meddling in political affairs as “a desperate attempt to malign the institution of the armed forces”. He said the PPP leader resorted to making such an aggressive attack after feeling fully trapped by the law enforcement agencies that had tightened the noose around his neck.

He said Mr Zardari, his associates and all corrupt elements within the PPP who mercilessly looted the masses and plundered the country’s resources for long were going to be held accountable for their misdeeds.

Instead of maligning the armed forces, Mr Zardari should have shown the courage by facing the allegation of massive corruption he and his associates were accused of, said Dr Mirza.

Committed leaders and workers of the PPP had been sidelined and neglected while those corrupt to the core were inducted in the party because of which it had lost popularity across the country, he commented, and predicted that “no PPP loyalist will come on the street in protest if Mr Zardari and his cronies are arrested and taken to task”.

“Mr Zardari will soon meet his fate as the issue is reaching its logical end,” he said, adding that the masses would then heave a sigh of relief.

Published in Dawn June 18th, 2015

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