Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Thursday that after the rejection of the petition for the dissolution of the Election Commission of Pakistan, the intentions and agenda of many new faces had been exposed, adding that President Asif Ali Zardari was behind the conspiracy to delay general elections. He was talking to reporters after inaugurating the 27th Lahore International Book Fair 2013 at Expo Centre, Johar Town. Shahbaz said that by supporting the petition through his attorney general, the president had shown that he was behind the conspiracy to delay elections. He said that electoral reforms were a good thing because those who had their loans waived on political basis and those who did not pay taxes, had no right to take part in the general elections.
Renowned journalist and Lahore International Book Fair Trust (LIBFT) Secretary General Najam Sethi, LIBFT Chairman Zubair Saeed, the information secretary, the director general public relations, students and a large number of book readers attended the ceremony. The CM also visited bookstalls after inaugurating the fair.
Replying to a question, the CM said that those who lived in palaces worth billion of rupees did not pay taxes and had got loans worth billions written off. “Zardari is mercilessly robbing the national exchequer but he must return the wealth to the people,” Shahbaz said, adding that foreign agents were trying to sabotage the elections.
He said that the relation between a civilised person and a book was eternal and the book fair was a good way to inculcate reading habits among people.
Over 300 publishers from Pakistan, Britain, Germany, United States, India, Turkey and other countries have set up their stalls in the book fair which would continue from February 14 to 18.
Zardari behind conspiracy to delay polls: Shahbaz
