LAHORE: Breaking his silence over the cases registered against him, former president and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday claimed that action being taken against him and his friends was part of a conspiracy to roll the 18th Amendment to the Consti­tution back.

“They arrested even those with whom I spoke over the phone,” the PPP leader said, adding that the industrialists who contributed to Sindh’s development were picked up and “now even my [own] arrest would not be a surprise”.

Mr Zardari, a leader of the third largest party in parliament, expressed these views while responding to questions at a brief press conference just two days before the National Assembly session requisitioned by the main opposition party to discuss the allegations of media curbs planned by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

Says whoever he speaks to by phone gets arrested; lawyers’ convention terms NAB actions selective accountability

The former president, who earlier attended a convention of the Peoples Lawyers Forum in Lahore, said the real issue behind all actions planned against him was the 18th Amendment that the PPP government had introduced to devolve power to the provinces.

He said the cases of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) were not new for him. He complained that trading accounts were being dubbed fake bank accounts.

Without naming anyone, he said: “They should understand that even my willingness cannot roll this amendment back.”

Neither Balochistan nor Sindh would let this happen, said Mr Zardari, adding that Punjab province got a huge share after the devolution of powers and funds. Huge spending of funds by former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif was the result of the 18th Amendment, he explained.

The leader also recalled that his party gave “recognition to Pashtuns by naming their province as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and it was their right”.

In reply to a query about proposed media regulations and freedom of expression, Mr Zardari said the incumbent rulers had been doing “poor acting of dictatorship”.

He also told the media that he had sought relief under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) neither from retired General Pervez Musharraf nor from Prime Minister Imran Khan. “I met Imran Khan only for once and that was in the National Assembly,” he said.

Responding to another question, the former president said he was not interested in toppling the government of the PTI. “We want them to exhaust themselves by doing their government,” he added.

About his expected meeting with PML-N supermo Nawaz Sharif, Mr Zardari said the meeting was possible at a multiparty conference being planned by Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam. However, when asked about an opposition alliance against the government the former president made it clear “neither Nawaz needs me nor do I need him. We both are leading our own parties.”

Mr Zardari said the ‘ladla’ (favourite) might not survive for long when his views were sought about the relationship of the incumbent prime minister and the establishment.

In reply to a question about the bailout package given by Saudi Arabia, the former president said Pakistan had historical relations with the kingdom since the time of former prime minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He recalled that Mr Bhutto had hosted the conference of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) in Lahore. He said the Lahore conference was attended by the heads of all Muslim countries.

He said China was a time-tested friend of Pakistan as both countries helped each other multiple times in the past. However, he regretted, the manner of governance adopted by the PTI government was not correct and a state could not be run this way for long.

Asked about the landing of an Israeli plane in Islamabad, the PPP leader expressed his complete ignorance of the issue though he quickly added that nothing was impossible.

Responding to the last query whether he had watched the recently released Donkey King movie, Mr Zardari said he was planning to watch it soon.

PLF convention

Earlier, the PLF convention passed a resolution demanding amendment to Article 184 (3) of the Constitution to entrust right to appeal in suo motu cases.

It termed the ongoing actions by the National Accountability Bureau ‘selective accountability’ and ‘against the mandate of law’. It resolved that neither controlled democracy nor gagged media was in consonance with the Constitution nor would society flourish into dynamism. It said the recent European Mission report on the influence on electoral process by the establishment and active role of the judiciary in political affairs needed serious consideration by the parliamentary committee.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2018

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