LAHORE, Oct 19: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawa has demanded that President Asif Zardari should either vacate the presidency or abdicate the office of co-chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party in the light of the Supreme Court verdict in the Asghar Khan case.

“The Supreme Court decision says neither any political cell can be set up in the presidency nor political activities can be carried out there. In the light of this verdict, President Zardari should immediately resign from the chairmanship of PPP or as the president of the country,” Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah demanded in a statement here on Friday.

Referring to the PPP leaders’ claims that PML-N President Nawaz Sharif would stand disqualified for accepting money from the ISI in 1990 elections, he said there was no reference of Mr Sharif in the entire decision of the Supreme Court and the joy of PPP leaders on this decision was not understandable.

He said they should rather be ashamed as those persons on whom they had been showering favours had been held responsible for hatching conspiracies against democracy.

Rana Sana said generals Aslam Beg and Asad Durrani had made the plan to distribute money during elections. He questioned whether the PPP which awarded Tamgha-i-Jamhuriat to Gen Beg would take back this award after the apex court decision.

He said the nation had the right to ask the PPP for what services it appointed Durrani as ambassador.

He said the PPP was in power in the centre as well as two provinces but it was a problem with the party that it looked at every issue in the light of its own desires than from the eyes of the people.

He said the Supreme Court had ordered the FIA to investigate those who took money. “Does the PPP have no confidence in FIA,” he questioned, urging the party to wait as the facts would soon surface.

Punjab government spokesman Senator Pervaiz Rashid says the Supreme Court decision has made it clear that the PPP had remained a tool in the hands of conspirators.

He said three persons have been declared the main characters of the conspiracy and PPP had close relationship with them.