‘Nawaz losing diplomatic, democratic battles’

• Zardari asks PM Nawaz to appoint dedicated foreign minister
• Former president calls Bilawal, Asifa future leaders of PPP

Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday said that the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and he (Zardari) promoted friendship with China and no country has any objection over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) except India.

But we can observe that Pakistan’s foreign policy is so weak and (Prime Minister Muhammad) Nawaz Sharif is losing diplomatic as well as democratic battles (inside and outside of the country),” he said while addressing party workers in Naushahro Feroze.

The former president said that Nawaz Sharif would not have been able to become the prime minister had the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) not made amendment in the constitution. “He (Nawaz) would have only managed to become the president,” he told the gathering.

He also said that India has already occupied Nagaland and Sikkim but regretted that the world has ignored the Indian aggressive designs. “Despite the recent critical situation, the prime minister was not taking any measure to bring it under control as he was busy in playing with pets at Murree,” he alleged.

He appealed to the prime minister to appoint a full-fledged foreign minister, as “we are losing the diplomatic war.” The former president said that the future leaders of PPP would be Bilawal Bhutto and Asifa Zardari. He said whenever his two daughters tweet, he gives serious considerations to their views and reconsiders decisions for joining of any person in the party – a reference to Irfanullah Khan Marwat.

The former president also criticized the PPP leaders joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying rotten eggs keep on shifting places. He said that Imran Khan would never give party tickets to them and he has joined hands with these elements just for the sake of photo session.

“Mark my words, he (Imran) will not issue them party tickets in the next general elections,” he said and claimed that his party would win the next general elections and come into power. “Pakistan has all the resources but we lack brains,” he said. He said that the future of Pakistan was in the hands of PPP. “If there is a future, it lies with the PPP,” he said.

Addressing an event in Moro, Zardari criticised Nawaz Sharif’s ‘abysmal’ attendance in the National Assembly, saying the prime minister had attended only four sessions of the assembly in the past four years, whereas even the late prime minister Mohammad Khan Junejo attended more sessions. He said that such a precedent would only lead to worse attendance by future leaders.