KARACHI: Expressing confidence that the next general elections will be held on time, former president and Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said an increasing number of independent candidates will contest the upcoming polls and their role will be important in formation of the next government.

In an interview with Geo News aired on Saturday, Mr Zardari also hinted that no party would get a simple majority in the National Assembly in the general elections. However, he said the PPP would emerge as the single-largest parliamentary party after the 2018 elections and form a coalition with independent candidates who would return to the assembly.

In reply to a question, he said he was optimistic, but not absolutely sure, that the general elections would be held in a free, fair and transparent manner.

“I don’t consider the PTI a [political] party,” Mr Zardari told interviewer Saleem Safi when he contested his claim that the PPP would win more seats than the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

He also did not rule out making a coalition with like-minded parties, including the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal or Muttahida Qaumi Movement groups, after the general elections.

‘Nawaz not trustworthy’

Mr Zardari said although ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif was now conceding all his mistakes and sending him “50 messages” of reconciliation, he was not ready to trust him.

The former president said that Mr Sharif did injustice with democratic forces as well as with parliament. “Some friends ask as to why I have friendship with [Maulana] Fazlur Rehman. He is at present [our] political opponent, but I trust Fazl as he will never deceive after giving his word.”

About allegations of ‘horse-trading’ in the March 3 Senate elections, he said he only used his connections and influence to get votes for his party candidates.

About Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, he said it was their decision to get an independent senator from Balochistan elected. He, however, hoped that Mr Sanjrani would stand by them.

Maintaining that he was not angry with former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani, he said 18th Amendment in the Constitution was in fact an achievement of the PPP and Mr Rabbani only drafted it.

Praise for army chief

The former president said the incumbent army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, was more successful compared to other generals and this was despite a widely held view that other generals were wiser.

He also gave Gen Bajwa credit for “thinking” of fencing the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, ignoring the fact that the project to prevent unauthorised crossings from the neighbouring country was conceived and announced during the tenure of former army chief retired Gen Raheel Sharif.

Mr Zardari had to leave the country during Mr Raheel’s tenure after he delivered a hard-hitting speech in June 2015 in which he warned the military establishment against creating problems for his party; otherwise “we would tear you down brick by brick”.

Benazir’s assassination

About the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he said besides retired Gen Pervez Musharraf many “internal and external” forces were involved.

When the interviewer said he failed to understand as to how Mr Musharraf made contact with outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud, Mr Zardari interrupted and said: “Someone else contacted Baitullah”.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2018