PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that the mandate of the incumbent government is fake but his party has accepted it.

“We accepted the NRO election for the sake of democracy,” he told a press conference at the residence of PPP provincial president Mohammad Humayun Khan here on Thursday.

Mr Zardari said that court had also disqualified former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani but his party neither staged rallies nor intimidated judiciary and accepted the verdict in a state of compulsion as a judge had made it a matter of ego.

He said that Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif and he stepped down by accepting the decision but he was still taking out rallies and asking as to why he was expelled.

Says it won’t take long to see whether Sharif goes to jail

The PPP leader said that PML-N destroyed the country’s economy whenever it came into powers. He said that PPP always focused on strengthening of national economy. He said that it would not take long to see if Nawaz Sharif would go to jail or not.

“We provided jobs to thousands of people but the incumbent government terminated them. PPP fought their case and got them reinstated through courts,” said Mr Zardari. He said that his party would come into power in the centre and provinces to serve people.

About the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said that other political parties recently started hue and cry over it while PPP had done a lot for the welfare of tribal people during its previous government.

“We will merge Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the earliest whenever we come into power. We will announce a comprehensive package for the welfare of tribal people because they faced lot of problems and sufferings during operations against terrorists,” he said.

The PPP leader said that after coming into power, his party would take all possible steps to provide funds to needy people in tribal areas and would also seek foreign support for them so that they could start normal life. He said that PPP had already done a lot for uplift of people and restoration of peace both in Swat and Fata.

“It was our government that hoisted national flag in Swat by launching operation against terrorists. It also served the internally displaced persons and managed to ensure their rehabilitation within a short possible period,” he said.

Regarding power crisis in the country, Mr Zardari claimed that Sindh government provided150 megawatts electricity to the national grid but others failed to add a single megawatt to the system so far. He said that federal government had promised to overcome power crisis within 90 days but it could not materialise its commitment.

About by-election on National Assembly seat in Peshawar, he said that his party was in opposition but it had to compete with the ruling parties both at federal and provincial level that were using state machinery for winning the election.

Meanwhile, a senior PPP leader told this correspondent that during meetings with senior workers and office-bearers of the party, Mr Zardari directed them to make efforts to ensure success of the party’s candidate in the by-election.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2017