–Former president urges ECP to release PPP candidate in South Waziristan
–Sanjrani meets Zardari amid reports of impending no-confidence vote
ISLAMABAD: Former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday said that the joint opposition will decide about the charter of economy in the All Parties Conference (APC).
Addressing the media at Parliament House, where he had been taken by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to attend to the National Assembly (NA) budget session, he said that no single party will decide about the charter of economy and a decision will be taken after consensus from all political parties.
Regarding Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President (VP) Maryam Nawaz’s statement terming it a mockery of economy, the former president said, “Maryam Bibi is out daughter but our ideology is that it is for the joint opposition to decide on this issue.”
It is worth mentioning here that a day earlier Maryam had said that offering charter of economy to Prime Minister Imran Khan is like giving him an NRO as he has caused irreparable damage to the economy with his “incompetence” and now he wanted the opposition to be a part of this failure.
When asked whether his party would side with the narrative of the elder Sharif or the younger Sharif, the PPP co-chairman said that he would stand by the narrative of the united opposition.
Meanwhile, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani also met Zardari amid reports of an impending no-confidence vote against him. Reportedly, the Senate chairman sought Zardari’s help in securing his position.
‘PPP ISN’T AFRAID OF DETENTIONS’:
The former president also urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to ensure the release of PPP candidate from South Waziristan, Imran Wazir, adding that his arrest amounts to pre-poll rigging.
It is pertinent to mention here that on May 6, ECP had announced to hold elections on 16 seats of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly in the tribal district on July 2 but later the commission postponed polls in the merged districts for 18 days. Now, elections on the 16 seats in the tribal districts would be held on July 20.
Zardari said that Wazir’s release is essential to the holding of free and fair and transparent elections in the merged districts, adding that detentions cannot demoralise PPP supporters and workers.
ZARDARI MEETS DAUGHTER:
The former president also met his daughter Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari at Parliament House in the presence of party leaders Faisal Sakhi Butt, Qayyum Soomro and Rukhsana Bangash.
The father-daughter duo discussed the overall political situation of the country.
Zardari was arrested from his residence in Islamabad on June 10 after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) turned down his and his sister Faryal Talpur’s plea for extension in their interim bail in the fake accounts case. After nearly two weeks of protest by the joint opposition, the NA speaker issued his production order, enabling him to attend the proceedings of the House.
