DADU: Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has said that the PPP will continue its struggle for the establishment of a democratic process in the country.

Addressing PPP activists and legislators at the residence of party MNA Rafique Ahmed Jamali here on Wednesday, he said there were flaws in democracy but they would be corrected through elections.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and the provincial ministers accompanied Mr Zardari during his visit to Dadu.

The former president said martial law governments had disrupted the development process in Pakistan, otherwise the situation would have been different in the country.

He said the PPP government had made parliament strong. Had his party’s government not amended the Constitution, Nawaz Sharif would not have become prime minister for a third time, he said, adding that no references could be filed against the president but he transferred powers to parliament.

He said that the PPP government did not make a system to come to power but paved the way for people to hold public office.

He said the PPP leadership did not prepare a development plan for only five years but it thought about progress of the country for 150-200 years.

He said the agriculture sector flourished during the PPP government, but to benefit the local population it did not allow export of wheat and sugar.

Talking about the last general election, he said his party accepted the result with reservations because returning officers had rigged that election.

He claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had no future in the next general elections.

Mr Zardari said Mr Sharif and members of his family were being quizzed by the JIT in an air-conditioned room, while he and members of the Bhutto family were grilled in police stations.

He said the Sharif family members were appearing before the JIT under police guards.

The PML-N leaders were objecting to summoning of Maryam Nawaz by the JIT, but they forgot how former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was treated when she was facing courts. She was also a daughter of prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, he added.

He claimed that the CPEC was his concept and said it was just not a game-changer, it would change the region. “Pakistan will become strong and powerful economically after its completion,” he added.

He said development was being done in Punjab through the CPEC.

He said some parties were claiming success through laptop schemes and money, but it did not mean that the PPP was not in Punjab. PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would lead party activities in Punjab, he added.

The PPP co-chairman said his party was mobilising youths. Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari wanted to contest election from Lyari, but he wanted that she contest from Nawabshah.

Speaking on the occasion, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah said that July 5 was the black day and the PPP was observing it all over the country. He said it was thought by the dictator that the PPP would be finished, but Mr Bhutto was in the hearts of the people of Pakistan.

He said there was a big difference between the PPP and other parties because his party was supporting democracy in the country while other parties’ leaders were protecting themselves.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the PPP would secure more votes and seats in the 2018 elections than the 2008 and 2013 elections.

He said the people of Sindh supported the PPP because the provincial government had delivered.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2017