ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: The Pakistan People’s Party has criticized the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants of Senator Asif Ali Zardari in the BMW case as perversion of judicial process to harass and hound political opponents.

The accountability court, Rawalpindi, has issued non bailable arrest warrants of Asif Zardari in the BMW car reference and directed prosecution to arrest him and present him before the court on August 26.

In a statement on Thursday, PPP leader and MNA Raja Pervez Ashraf said Asif Zardari had submitted an application supported by a medical certificate about his health problems and sought exemption from personal appearance in the case. He said the insistence by NAB prosecutors to issue arrest warrants even without observing the legal formality of issuing a notice showed the desperation of NAB and its policy to blackmail and intimidate political opponents.

He said the NAB was acting as political arm of the rulers to re-engineer Pakistan‘s political landscape.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has apprised the chief election commissioner (CEC) of the incidents of victimization of Awam Dost candidates, their supporters and PPP workers and has demanded to take immediate action to ensure free, fair, transparent and impartial elections.

The member of the PPP Monitoring Cell for the local bodies elections and In charge Central Secretariat Kamran Zafar in a letter addressed to the CEC has said, “Police tried to arrest ADP Nazim candidate Dur Mohammad Palari in Jamshoro court and eight persons, including women were injured in fight and resistance. Police tore the clothes of Nazim. Police registered a case under Anti-Terrorism against Malik, Talpur, Shoro and others. Raids were conducted at the house of PPP candidates and their proposers. Many have gone underground.”

CONDOLENCE: A PPP delegation called on the acting Ambassador of Saudi Arabia on Thursday to condole the death of Saudi King Shah Fahad and to deliver a condolence message by the former prime minister Chairperson of the PPP, Benazir Bhutto.

The delegation was headed by Coordinator Foreign Liaison Committee PPP Senator Enver Beg and MNAs Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari and Fauzia Habib as its members.

Opinion

Editorial

Under siege
Updated 03 May, 2024

Under siege

Whether through direct censorship, withholding advertising, harassment or violence, the press in Pakistan navigates a hazardous terrain.
Meddlesome ways
03 May, 2024

Meddlesome ways

AFTER this week’s proceedings in the so-called ‘meddling case’, it appears that the majority of judges...
Mass transit mess
03 May, 2024

Mass transit mess

THAT Karachi — one of the world’s largest megacities — does not have a mass transit system worth the name is ...
Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...