Sharif not ready to go against the army

• PM cancels meeting with PPP chief on Sindh situation, says time not right for army’s censure
• Information, defence ministers condemn Zardari’s statements, stress respect for armed forces
• PPP’s working committee disowns co-chief’s stance, executive committee endorses stand

A day after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari ‘waged war’ on the country’s military, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chose to stand beside the Pakistan Army by calling off a meeting with the former president of Pakistan on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters, Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said that PM Sharif had no other option but to call off the meeting with Zardari, adding that the PPP chief should have “shown care in his selection of words”.

“It’s not wise to pass such statements when the military is tackling militancy and terrorism. National security institutions deserve respect and it is our duty to honour the services and sacrifices rendered by our security forces,” the information minister said, with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif adding, “Zardari’s language does not befit a former president.”

According to PPP leader Farhatullah Babar, Zardari was expected to meet Sharif to discuss the overall situation of Sindh but upon his arrival at Bilawal House, he came to know that the meeting had been put on hold. Later on, sources said that the meeting could not take place due to “personal engagements” of the two leaders.

However, a statement from Prime Minister’s House quoted Sharif as saying during a meeting on political consultations that “criticism of the armed forces encourages destabilising factors in the country”, adding that it was not an appropriate step under current circumstances.

Sharif maintained that the operation against terrorism was in critical stages and national unity was the need of the hour. “Coordination between the civilian and military leadership has strengthened democracy. This harmony is evident in the decisions taken by the All Parties Conferences (APC) during which the civilian and military leadership set joint national targets,” the statement said, adding that PM also underscored the need to continue efforts with same passion.

In an aggressive speech on Tuesday, Zardari lashed out against “the character assassination of his party” and warned the military leadership that if they did not stop, he would expose the misdeeds of many generals.

The former president said army chiefs come and go every three years but the political leadership was meant to stay. “We know the country better and we know how to run its affairs,” he had stressed.

PPP DIVIDED:

Earlier on Wednesday, PPP’s Central Working Committee termed Zardari’s anti-military statements as his “personal opinion, which is not endorsed by the party”.

In a statement, the party said it believed in upholding the honour of Pakistan and its institutions and the party co-chairman’s statements were issued in his personal capacity.

On the contrary, PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting, headed by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on Wednesday night endorsed the party co-chairman’s no-holds-barred speech that drew severe criticism from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led central government.

The CEC has mandated the chairman and co-chairman to hold talks with the government and contact country’s political leadership over the situation emerging after Zardari’s fiery speech, a statement said.

While talking to reporters, Bilawal claimed his party’s mandate was always stolen as the “people would never betray PPP’s martyrs; Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto”. He added that nothing could keep him away from the people and he would go to every part of the country to strengthen PPP.

Moreover, PPP heavyweight Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar asserted that neither did his party leaders retract from their statements in the past nor they have any intention to do so this time around. He downplayed the current situation by saying that similar statements had also been made by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto during their lifetime.

“We have assured the party co-chairman to stand his ground if he wants to put up a fight. He will find the rest of the party by his side,” Mukhtar said.

Furthermore, PPP leader Farhatullah Babar criticised the media, telling reporters that a part of Zardari’s speech was “unnecessarily made the topic of discussion”. He added that Zardari has been pursuing a reconciliatory approach and does not intend to change it.

Establishing that Operation Zarb-e-Azb had successfully achieved its goals after a year and paying tribute to the martyrs, the PPP senator advised all the institutions to work within the constitutional parameters, stressing that the National Action Plan should be fully implemented.

“The party has been dissolved in Gilgit-Baltistan and its reorganisation will be undertaken soon,” Babar said, adding that PPP will move forward with the decision of tripartite alliance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

BILAWAL TO CONTEST NA POLLS:

After the conclusion of the CEC meeting, former information minister and senior member of the PPP, Qamar Zaman Kaira, said it had also been decided to field PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto as a candidate for the National Assembly.

Kaira said Bilawal will run for the Lower House from either Sukkur or Larkana, adding that a formal announcement in this regard will be made today (Thursday).

Sources said that the PPP plans on introducing Bilawal as Leader of Opposition in the Lower House and that Khurshid Shah had already agreed to this suggestion.