Zardari vows to ‘make a difference’ after entering parliament

Published December 31, 2016
PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari gives a hearing to notables of Nawabshah at Zardari House, where he also shared views with elected party colleagues, on Friday.—INP
PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari gives a hearing to notables of Nawabshah at Zardari House, where he also shared views with elected party colleagues, on Friday.—INP

NAWABSHAH: “Those who think that my presence in the National Assembly will make no difference will soon realise they were sadly mistaken; they will see a big difference.” This was stated by Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman and former head of state Asif Ali Zardari while addressing a session of elected representatives of the party at Zardari House here on Friday.

Several party leaders, including MNAs Faryal Talpur, Syed Ghu­lam Mustafa Shah, Syed Asghar Ali Shah and Shazia Marri and MPA Ziaul Hassan Lanjar were also present.

After sharing views of party colleagues on various political and development issues, Mr Zardari said that when it came to most mega projects, be it the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor or the Gwadar port, it was the PPP that initiated massive development activities in the country. He said CPEC was initially meant to benefit Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone but one could see that it was now Punjab that was benefiting from it the most.

Commenting on PTI chief Imran Khan’s struggle against the government, the PPP co-chairman said some people had told him [Mr Zardari] that a cricketer was struggling hard [to bring down the government] in the country. “I told them that let him run and exhaust himself ... he will ultimately stop when he will get tired,” said Mr Zardari.

‘Rivals biting nails over Zardari’s decision’

Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Information Maula Bux Chandio has said that Mr Zardari’s decision to enter parliament has left his opponents biting their nails, adds our staff reporter from Karachi.

Mr Chandio told journalists at Bil­a­wal House on Friday the mounting frustration and nervousness among the ranks of party rivals over the decision was tantamount to their acceptance of psychological defeat to Mr Zardari. Now, those who had been raising questions over Mr Zar­dari’s future in his absence should better fall silent, he said. He said that Imran Khan was not interested in resolving peoples’ problems. And now by opposing the Panama bill, he was in fact supporting the present government’s stance, he said.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

Falling temperatures
Updated 04 Jan, 2025

Falling temperatures

Vitally important for stakeholders to acknowledge, understand politicians can still challenge opposing parties’ narratives without also being in a constant state of war with each other.
Agriculture census
04 Jan, 2025

Agriculture census

ACCURATE information relating to agricultural activities is vital for data-driven future planning, policymaking, as...
Biometrics for kids
04 Jan, 2025

Biometrics for kids

ALTHOUGH the move has caused a panic among weary parents mortified at the thought of carting their children to Nadra...
Kurram peace deal
03 Jan, 2025

Kurram peace deal

It is the state’s responsibility to ensure that people of all sects can travel to and from the district without fear.
Pension reform
03 Jan, 2025

Pension reform

THE federal government has finally implemented several parametric reforms introduced in the last two budgets to...
The Indian hand
03 Jan, 2025

The Indian hand

OFFICIALS of the Modi regime were operating under a rather warped sense of reality, playing out Bollywood fantasies...