LAHORE: Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan on Sunday said that former president Asif Ali Zardari is trying to blackmail national institutions by making ‘controversial’ statements.

He was reacting to Mr Zardari’s statement that “the officials appointed for a three-year term cannot make decisions about the country”.

The minister recalled that Mr Zardari had made similar statements earlier against state institutions after which he was forced to “transport bricks in Dubai” for three years. The former president is doing his best to avoid accountability cases against him, but eventually he would have to be accountable in the fake accounts case, he added.

Mr Chohan alleged that the PPP leader plundered national wealth worth Rs1 trillion, as “he is the king of devastation and not politics”.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar said in a media talk here that the government was working with good intentions and would complete its reforms agenda in its five-year tenure.

“The government has no intentions to go for early polls. And if elections are ever held before time, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf will win more seats than it did on July 25,” he said while answering a question on Mr Zardari’s remarks about early elections.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2018