LAHORE: Former president Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting with industrialists and businessmen here on Sunday.

It was organised at the residence of Shahzad Ali Khan, former president of All-Pakistan Textile Manufact-urers Association and son-in-law of Mian Manzoor Wattoo, and attended by around 100 people.

Many believed that it’s more an attempt at reinvigorating the traders’ wing of the PPP than making a dent into the “constituency” of the Sharifs. The meeting continued till late in the evening as the participants discussed ways and means for future line of action of the party and the next budget.

Senator Salim Mandviwala told the media waiting for hours outside the venue that Mr Zardari assured the businessmen of provision of gas supply to Punjab factories and resolving their other issues if the PPP would come into power. Urging them to “frame” instead of following (government) policies, he said the party would implement these policies after forming government. He said the PPP protest worried the PML-N government as it supplied uninterrupted power supply particularly in the provincial capital of Punjab when a protest day was announced against it.

Meanwhile, ex-ticket holder of PML-Q for PP-61 (Faisalabad) Khalid Pervaiz called on Mr Zardari at Bilawal House and announced joining the PPP.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2017