HYDERABAD: Sindh National Front (SNF) chairman Mumtaz Ali Bhutto has called for ruthless accountability of all corrupt elements, particularly Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, in the wake of disqualification of former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif.

How could it be called justice if the sitting prime minister was disqualified by the Supreme Court and no finger was raised at the scandals of mega corruption committed by people like Zardari, he said.

Mr Bhutto said at a press conference after presiding over a meeting of his party’s central committee at a private hotel here on Sunday that although Mr Sharif was a popular leader of Punjab, he and his party should accept the court’s decision with grace.

He reiterated that it was unfair not to go after other big fishes like Mr Zardari who made record corruption and served 10-12 years in jails on charges of graft. PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto had to pay a heavy price for Mr Zardari’s corruption when her government was overthrown on charges of massive corruption committed by this man, he said.

He said that foreign and local properties and assets of Mr Zardari could be easily checked as social media was teeming with lists his moveable and immovable assets and sugar mills in the province.

He said the country had not had a true political leadership for past 15 years as political leaders were interested only in looting the national exchequer. It was sad to see heaps of garbage littering Karachi and other cities and the rulers’ helplessness to remove them, he said.

About fears of imposition of martial law, Mr Bhutto said that there was no place for another martial law in the country as consecutive military rules had already taken a heavy toll on Pakistan.

He said that founder of the country had agreed through Pakistan Resolution that every province would be autonomous and no province would have control over the other and even the Centre or federation could not have any control over them except for some powers over defence, finance and communications. When a martial law was imposed, a dictator reigned over all provinces, he said.

He said that some political parties were making offers to him to join them and he had also met Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan in this regard but he would take a decision after thinking thousands of times as he had paid a heavy price of such a decision in the past.

He had to end his party’s merger with PML-N after the party leadership failed to honour an accord it had inked with the SNF after they came to powers. He, therefore, parted ways with PML-N, he said.

About allegations leveled by former PTI lawmaker Ayesha Gulalai and Ayesha Ahad against PTI chairman Imran Khan and PML-N MNA Hamza Shahbaz, respectively, he said that all allegations should be probed and politics should be cleansed of them.

He said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a good project which could bring about prosperity in the country if the government took some important decisions to make full use of it.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2017