Responding to the Lahore High Court (LHC)’s verdict in the dual office case against President Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) announced on Saturday that it would challenge the decision in the Supreme Court (SC), as well as protesting the decision on the political front. After the announcement of protests by the PPP in Sindh, the central PPP leadership and the party’s Punjab chapter also released a condemnation of the LHC verdict, and the PPP Punjab secretary general, along with other allied political entities, announced that the party would protest against the decision. PPP Punjab President Imtaiz Safdar Warraich, Secretary General Jahangir Badar and Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa separately disputed the decision and announced that restrictions on President Zardari would not be tolerated.
Badar told a crowded press conference at Lahore Press Club that the LHC verdict was a restraint on the president’s fundamental rights, and announced that the verdict would be challenged in the SC and the PPP’s legal team would take a final decision after President Zardari’s return from Russia. He said nowhere in the world was the president’s office a non-political post and presidents always came from a political background. Badr said further that it was not possible to eliminate the presidency’s relations with politics. He said that it was also a perception that almost all court decisions in political cases were against the PPP, the party that had contributed the most to the restoration of the judiciary and democracy.
Badar said all former presidents of the country, including Ziaul Haq, Ayub Khan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Farooq Leghari and Pervez Musharraf participated in politics during their presidential tenure, but no such decision was given against them. He said that the PPP respected the courts and did not want to pressurise them, but it wanted justice from the judiciary. He said that the party’s protest against the decision was not in contempt of court as it was their constitutional right. He said the office of the president was a symbol of the federation and all provinces would be affected if the president was banned form participating in political activities.
In response to a question, he said that it was unfortunate that almost all decisions of the courts against the PPP had a connection with Sindh. He said President Zardari was not in the country and such a decision in his absence was not in the national interest. Warraich said the constitution only forbade the army chief from participating in political affairs. Khosa told reporters separately that Zardari had done nothing against the rules and had not been involved in extra-constitutional activities at the presidency. He said members of all political parties, not just PPP workers, met him at President’s House. He vowed to move to the SC against the decision.
Meanwhile, around 150 female activists led by Provincial Assembly Member Nargis Faiz Malik assembled in front of National Press Club in the capital to demonstrate against the LHC verdict. Later, they rallied from the press club towards Parliament House. They were carrying PPP flags in their hands and raised slogans in favour of President Zardari. Malik told Pakistan Today that PPP activists were upset over the “biased” decision of the LHC against the president. “Presidency is the third pillar of parliament and this pillar cannot be kept from taking part in national politics,” Nargis added.
