Nawaz locking horns with institutions: Zardari

LAHORE: Former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari Thursday lashed out at his political opponents Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan on Thursday, criticising the policies of the former and the vision of the latter.

Speaking to media in here, Zardari alleged that former prime minister Nawaz had weakened the country and left it “hollow”, Geo News reported. “Nawaz is staring down at institutions. He weakened Pakistan, left it hollow,” he said, and also questioned the vision of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief.

He said that some in the government are ‘friends’ of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some are others’. “Imran Khan only delivers long speeches [on stage], he has nothing else. Where is his defence policy, where is his foreign policy?” Zardari questioned the PTI leader.

The former president claimed that whatever he did five years ago, “[Nawaz and Imran] only achieve it five years later.” He further criticised that the present government has no foreign policy whereas during the PPP rule, Pakistan enjoyed good relations with its neighbouring countries.

On Wednesday, PML-N quaid Nawaz Sharif said that he had no competition with Imran Khan and Asif Ali Zardari. In a public address in Sadiqabad, he said that his only competition was with “outside beings”.