No interference in Karachi operation: Sethi

LAHORE: Commenting on PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari’s recent statement, Najam Sethi on Saturday said the PPP leadership earlier had to apologise through media after the former president criticised the military establishment.
It was perhaps because of the fact that the army was giving great sacrifices in the war on terror, thus realising he shouldn’t have given that statement, he added.
Moreover, he said, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had given a free hand in Karachi and there was a understanding between him and the army chief that there would a clean-up without any interference.
Expressing his views in Geo News programme ‘Aapas ki Baat’, Sethi said all the political parties had strengthened the army through the Protection of Pakistan Act, adding that a similar demand of Gen Kayani was refused but entertained in the case of Gen Raheel.
According to Sethi, unlike Raza Rabbani, Zardari favoured the law but the guns are currently turned to the PPP.
The case against Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Yousuf Raza Gilani is an old case about which the apex court had ordered the NAB to pursue.
Zardari expressed his anger after action was taken in Sindh, with an impression that more big guns will face the same, while the Uzair Baloch’s issue also came into limelight.
As the criminal activities in Karachi were also bracketed with terrorism, Zardari feared about being tagged with some matter; hence, his aggressive statement. But it didn’t work.
Sethi said Dr Asim was a close aide of Zardari, not a PPP leader, and the senior party leaders did not like him. It was evident from a mild reaction of the Sindh chief minister, while Qamar Zaman Kaira stressed that the PPP should not be accused of terrorism, he said.
He added that Khursheed Shah’s latest statement also confirmed the impression, while the party chairman, Bilawal Bhutto, was completely silent, but some people were saying that he would speak at the appropriate time.
According to Sethi, Bilawal’s approach is right as he knows that the PPP is facing serious corruption allegations. That’s why he is silent, knowing that there is something wrong.
Khursheed’s statement, in which he described Dr Asim’s arrest a conspiracy and an attempt to protect him, is inappropriate.
Khursheed also knows that it wasn’t right. May be, he wants to say that Dr Asim will get bail before three months after which there would be no problem. These views reveal the inner feelings of the PPP, as the party leaders know that he is Zardari’s friend and will damage the PPP, if freed.
About Zardari’s statement regarding Altaf Hussain, Sethi said the PPP-MQM relations had been quite tense due to the local government ordinance, with the MQM leaders saying that the promises had been fulfilled.
Zardari, during his five-year tenure, made a lot of compromises and did not resort to revengeful politics but was disappointed that they had cooperated with everyone but instead were currently facing the allegations, he added.
He said the MQM was the reason behind the Bilawal-Zardari clash and the MQM should understand that all of the demands could not be met.
Commenting on Khursheed’s statement that the army chief should allow the institutions to work, Sethi said the opposition leader knew that the prime did not have any power, but the government would not permit arresting the senior PPP leaders.
It was possible that the Rangers too might have been advised to be cautious as it could face allegations in the coming days, he added.
Sethi praised the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) and the Punjab Food Authority for their performance.
It should be appreciated, he said, that the PRA had collected Rs 700-Rs750 million more tax than the target which was a huge success.
During the programme, Adviser to the PM Sartaj Aziz said he had discussed the ongoing anti-Pakistan campaign during his latest visit to Kabul, stressing that the practice should end immediately to restore mutual trust. Both the countries had agreed to ensure that, he added.
Moreover, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had also addressed the issue of threats of the Pakistan army, he said.
According to Aziz, the situation about the Kabul-Afghan Taliban talks isn’t clear but Pakistan is ready for assistance, if Afghanistan desires so.
Pakistan is waiting for the green light from Kabul so that the process could be moved forward.
Sartaj said there was no evidence that Haqqani network was behind the latest attack in Kabul and the point had been made clear to the Afghan government.
About the operation against the Haqqani network in Pakistan, he said action was under way against terrorists but Pakistan could not carry out operation inside Afghanistan.
It would solve Pakistan’s problem but complicate the issue in Afghanistan, he noted. He said the pressure exerted by Pakistan made the Taliban to hold talks but some of their groups would never opt to dialogue.