HYDERABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari has said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government claims that it has reservations over a few clauses of the 18th Amendment, but actually it is planning to abrogate the 1973 Constitution on the pretext of the amendment.

He was talking to journalists at the residence of his close aide Ghulam Qadir Mari in Darya Khan village of Tando Allahyar district on Tuesday. Mr Mari was picked up last year near the Jamshoro thermal power house.

“They [PTI government] are trying to abrogate the 1973 Constitution to restart the politics of One Unit. We will resist it. We are already resisting it,” the former president said, adding that when the PPP got a chance it successfully restored the Constitution. He said his party would oppose all the moves aimed to scrap the 18th Amendment.

He said he had pointed out much before the July 25 general elections that the way the polls were being held and the way “puppets” were being brought clearly showed that they wouldn’t be able to run the government. He said Pakistan was facing a critical situation nowadays and it needed a proper leadership that was aware of the ground realities and had acceptability among people.

Says Pakistan needs a leadership that is aware of ground realities and has acceptability among people

Mr Zardari said the PPP had not accepted the election results as it believed that “worst democracy is better than best dictatorship” and that’s why the party was in parliament. “We don’t want to let anyone say that since democratic forces lack capacity, they should be sent packing and we can’t give such opportunity”.

He said the PTI wanted to wrap up the system as they were politically immature and lacked political thinking.

In reply to a question about money laundering investigation against him, the former president said that as long as he was alive such wars would continue. Previously, he added, they had harassed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and blackmail the PPP and now he was also “hostage”. The present government had same intentions, he said, adding that let them test his courage and he would bear their tyranny.

In reply to a question about early polls, Mr Zardari avoided making any prediction and said “will there be a national government or early elections that I don’t know, but one thing I am sure about is that they [PTI] can’t run the show”.

About the delay in the crushing season, he said the farming community got benefits when the PPP had formed its government at the Centre for five years, explaining that prices and issues of most commodities fell within the federal government’s domain.

He regretted that the JIT (joint investigation team) had seized several mills and started raising questions over the growth in industry, adding that all those mills were sick units which were revitalised by encouraging parties to create employment opportunities in the area. “They [JIT] have their useless thinking. It is evident what they want and what is happening. There will be losses eventually which will have to be borne by all,” he said.

Mr Zardari clarified that he and his sister, and not Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, had been summoned by the JIT, adding that he had submitted his reply and was ready to face trial.

About US President Donald Trump’s letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said the region where Pakistan was located was faced with several issues. He said PPP workers had fallen prey to terrorism. “Even Benazir Bhutto was martyred. Leaders of the Awami National Party were killed in terrorist activities. We ourselves are victims of terror,” he said.

“Pakistan is dealt with as if we are producing and appeasing terrorism, but on the contrary we are under terror attack. I ask the US president as to what he has to say over India and other forces promoting terrorism in Afghanistan?”

Asked whether the PPP would support the PTI government if the latter was threatened, Mr Zardari said: “Those who have brought it [PTI] will support it. Why will the PPP lend support to it?”

He said Imran Khan had himself stated that he would put the entire opposition in jail, but the question the PTI chief faced was whether he was prepared to go to jail because the saying goes “as you sow so shall you reap”.

Mr Zardari said everyone knew that he had courageously faced trial and tribulations, but for how long Imran Khan would bear with it. He recalled that Nawaz Sharif had introduced Ehtesab laws and courts against his opponents, but now he himself was facing them.

“If Imran Khan puts someone in jail, his successor will pay him in same manner. Will he then be able to bear it?” he asked.

The PPP leader criticised the demolition of 50,000 shops in Karachi which have rendered many families jobless and now they are asked to stay in tents. “Every government has to provide jobs instead of demolishing shops,” he said, adding that there should have been some alternative arrangement before shops were razed.

He sarcastically said he didn’t see the PTI having some foreign policy but it had a policy of demolishing 300-year-old boundary wall of the Governor House in Lahore.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2018