Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman and former president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday said that he had not given any statement against the military establishment and rejected insinuations that he was in England due to a tiff with the military top brass.
“I am in England for my annual medical checkup and will be returning to Pakistan soon. It is wrong to think that I left the country immediately after making a statement criticizing the military. My remarks were not aimed at the establishment, rather I was talking about some generals who had transgressed their constitutional roles,” Zardari said while talking to Pakistan Today Editor Arif Nizami in his TV talkshow DNA on Channel 24.
“Every government and military official has a set tenure except politicians. I am still in control in Sindh and in the Senate where my party man is the chairman therefore the PPP cannot be ruled out as a major political force of the country. PPP has no problem with the establishment as long as they do not do anything unconstitutional,” said Zardari.
“The PPP and all others parties agreed on launching an operation in Karachi to purge the city of criminal elements. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) should reconsider its decision of quitting the assemblies as it has a strong vote bank in urban Sindh,” he said, adding that though Fazlur Rehman of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam was mediating between the government and MQM on the resignations issue, he had also tasked NA Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Shah to make his own efforts to bring back MQM into the assemblies.
“PPP is not a security risk rather we have always fought for safeguarding democracy. The party has presence across Pakistan and it is not wrong to call it the single largest party in the country.”
On Nizami’s remark that the PPP had lost its presence in Punjab, Zardari said that the party had been damaged by different forces – sometimes by dictators and then on Baradari (caste) basis. It’s true that our workers in Punjab have reservations over some leaders but this happens in every party.”
On a question about Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s return to politics, Zardari said that his young son would accept the political challenges that come before him.
“We will let Nawaz Sharif rule for five years. We will come into the political field in the run up to the elections and let the people judge the PML-N government’s performance. I don’t crave power, my only objective is to see democracy flourish in Pakistan,” he said.
Asked about his opinion on Shehbaz Sharif’s demands for a judicial probe into the protests organized by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) last year, he said a judicial commission could be demanded if someone had credible evidence to substantiate their claim.
Zardari said that he believed that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army chief General Raheel Sharif were enjoying a good working relationship. “I don’t think that there is a soft coup in Pakistan right,” he added.