President Asif Ali Zardari.—File Photo

LAHORE: President Asif Ali Zardari launched another diatribe against the Sharif brothers on Friday, saying they had ‘stiff necks’ and he knew how to humble them.

“I gave concession to the Sharif brothers only to send Gen Musharraf packing,” the president said while speaking to party activists at the Governor’s House here on Friday.

He said Punjab would vote the People’s Party to power next year because the “arrogance’ of the PML-N had made it unpopular. “The PML-N does not have majority in Punjab, but we never tried to topple its government,” Mr Zardari said, adding that the PPP did not believe in “the politics of hypocrisy”.

The president asked party workers to make preparations for the next elections and said he would personally visit all divisions of Punjab before the polls to strengthen the party in the province.

The PPP said President Zardari’s earlier statement that the Sharifs did not have “enough followers to shoulder the funeral of their father in Lahore” was misquoted. “The president did not say anything about the funeral of the father of Sharif brothers,” Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said.

President Zardari further said the PPP had come to power in hard times and successfully completed first four years of its term, adding that those workers who had given sacrifices for the party would not be ignored. He said he would be in touch with workers and continue to visit Lahore. The president directed federal ministers to address workers’ grievances and give them respect. He said the PPP government would soon overcome the energy crisis and solve the loadshedding problem.

Suggestions given by PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Husain to resolve the energy crisis would be referred to parliament, Mr Zardari said.

He reiterated that the PPP would contest the next elections with its allies.

Opinion

Editorial

A new war
Updated 01 Mar, 2026

A new war

UNLESS there is an immediate diplomatic breakthrough, the joint Israeli-American aggression against Iran launched on...
Breaking the cycle
01 Mar, 2026

Breaking the cycle

THE confrontation between Pakistan and Afghanistan has taken a dangerous turn. Attacks, retaliatory strikes and the...
Anonymous collections
01 Mar, 2026

Anonymous collections

THE widespread emergence of ‘nameless donation boxes’ soliciting charity in cities and towns across Punjab...
Afghan hostilities
Updated 28 Feb, 2026

Afghan hostilities

The need is for an immediate ceasefire and substantive negotiations, with the onus on the Taliban to rein in cross-border attacks.
Cutting taxes
28 Feb, 2026

Cutting taxes

PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s plan to cut direct taxes for businesses in the next budget acknowledges the strain...
KCR challenge
28 Feb, 2026

KCR challenge

THE Karachi Circular Railway is being discussed again. It seems that the project, or, rather, the hopes of it, are...