KARACHI: A day after the daughters of the slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto made it clear that Irfanullah Marwat, a former provincial minister, was not welcome in the PPP, Mr Marwat on Sunday said that he just met former president Asif Ali Zardari, but did not join his party.

Mr Marwat was until recently associated with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and won the 2013 general election from a provincial assembly constituency (PS-114) in Mehmoodabad. However, he was unseated as his election was declared void by a tribunal later.

On Friday, he met Mr Zardari at Bilawal House and told the media after the meeting that he joined the PPP.

But PPP workers and supporters did not like the decision as they took to social media to vent their anger against him.

They were quite critical of Mr Marwat, who in the early-90s took drastic actions against the PPP as the chief minister’s adviser on home affairs.

They were joined by the two daughters of Mr Zardari, who tweeted on the issue with Bakhtawar calling him ‘a sick man’ and Aseefa saying that his repulsive and illegal actions were reprehensible.

On Sunday, Mr Marwat, who said he was abroad for his treatment, told private news channels that he never said that he had joined the PPP and all he said was that it was decided to go along with each other. “When time comes the announcement regarding my joining will be made.”

He said both Bakhtawar and Aseefa were like his daughters and they were misguided by a group within the PPP, who was challenging the authority of Mr Zardari.

He alleged that Senator Saeed Ghani was behind the move against him since he wanted the party ticket ‘on my seat’ to contest the election — an allegation promptly rejected by the PPP senator.

Mr Marwat, who in the past has held ministerial posts in the Sindh cabinet, also rejected allegations levelled against him and said that he would ask Mr Zardari as to why he met him if he was involved in any wrongdoing.

Meanwhile Senator Ghani told the media that he could not even think of going against the party.

He said Mr Marwat had been in touch with the party leadership for the past two years.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2017