ATTOCK, Nov 27: Asif Ali Zardari, former senator and spouse of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, said the military government had divided the PPP because of the fact that the rulers were afraid of the party.
Talking to reporters after appearing in the accountability court, set up at Attock Fort, for hearing in a NAB reference on Wednesday, Asif Zardari said the military leadership and Pir Pagara were fully backing MQM to form the government in Sindh. He said the PML-Q had given an impression of supporting Arbab Rahim, but the real powers were with the MQM.
He termed Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) as B team of the military government. The MMA had been “gifted” seats in bordering provinces of Afghanistan with the support of the establishment.
He regretted that the government divided the PPP, when he was mourning the death of his mother. He termed such tactics “immoral”. He reminded that Farooq Leghari did the same after the murder of his brother-in-law Mir Murtaza Bhutto in 1996 and tried to divide the party through Malik Meraj Khalid and Dr Ghulam Hussein.
He regretted that he was not allowed to see his ailing mother until she went in coma and became unable to see him and talk to him in a Karachi hospital. He deplored that he was not allowed to attend funerals of his late uncle and nephew during longest imprisonment. He vowed to face difficult time bravely and ruled out “any surrender”.
Asif Zardari termed the PPP as a party of masses which could not be broken by the establishment and its cronies. He said “heavyweight uncles” of Benazir Bhutto could not weaken the party in Gen Zia’s military rule despite the fact that they were “trusted colleagues” of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
He alleged that Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali was a “defaulter” of the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan. He claimed that during the PPP government, Hamid Nasir Chattha had saved Mr Jamali from accountability.
Asif Ali Zardari predicted that elections would be held again very soon and Jamali-led government would not be allowed to continue its tenure. He said “hidden power” was somewhere else and grade-22 officers were running the real show. He termed present ministers just as “scapegoats” having no power whatsoever.
He lauded the role of veteran leader and ARD chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan. He predicted that the ARD would remain intact.
Earlier, Justice Chaudhry Mahar Hussain of the accountability court adjourned the hearing of “assets case” against former senator Asif Ali Zardari till December 10.—PPI