MULTAN: Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said here on Friday that his party would sweep the next election in Punjab. He said the PPP would hold rallies in all parts of the province even in case its members were not provided security.

He said this while talking to media personnel at the residence of former religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi.

Mr Zardari came to Multan to congratulate Mr Kazmi over his acquittal in the Haj corruption case. He was accompanied by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, former state minister for defence production Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi, former media coordinator to prime minister Khwaja Rizwan Alam and others.

Without mentioning the name of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the former president said that a former chief justice was levelling allegations against his party to get attention for his election campaign. Calling him a ‘political judge’, he said this former chief justice wanted to become the president of the country.

Mr Zardari severely criticised the former chief justice and said he should be ashamed for levelling false allegations against the PPP and Mr Kazmi.

The PPP co-chairman said there was no chance of early elections in the country, adding that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz would go for elections only after winning some Senate seats.

He said his party would win elections in all parts of Punjab and initiate a development process in the province. The PPP, he said, was ready for elections.

Talking about the Panama Papers case, he said he could not predict what would be the judgement of the Supreme Court in it. But, he added, in the past judgements never came against the Sharifs. “Benazir Bhutto once said that courts had never decided against Mian Sahib and in our favour,” he added.

He said a Bilawal House would be constructed in Multan.

Mr Zardari said the party would take a decision on who would be its prime minister after its victory in the next elections.

He said PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was independently running party affairs. “The party structure has been reorganised in Balochistan as well as in Azad Kashmir.”

Replying to a question about the establishment of Seraiki province, he said the PPP would take a decision in this regard after winning the next election.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2017