Accuse and hang, we won’t be frightened: Zardari

SUKKUR: Former president and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said Sunday he is ready to face all the fake cases against him and strongly criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan, suggesting him to do what he was good at doing.

Addressing a public gathering in Badin, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari asked Imran Khan why he was doing a job in which he did not have any expertise. He said that he has never played cricket because he does not know how to play. He recalled when the PPP government came into power, he directed the-then minister Naveed Qamar to run the affairs in a way that the government would not need to seek any foreign assistance.

The PPP leader said his teacher was Benazir Bhutto and he learnt a lot from her. He said he was ready to face even 50 cases at a time, saying he has been through all of this in the past as well. He said when Imran Khan came into power, the country’s reserves were nine billion dollars, while the current reserves reached the lowest at four billion dollars.

Zardari questioned how could one bring a change in just five years, because even a mango tree was not ready to produce fruit during this period. He said the authorities should think the direction the country was being led.The former president said the popularity of PPP can be gauged from the fact that he won the elections from prison in the past and the same had happened again when Sharjeel Memon got victory while being in custody. He stressed on non-political authorities to think about the country’s future.

Monitoring desk adds: PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari questioned why the government had chosen to run the country when it didn’t know how to. He vowed to face the cases against him and lambasted the government for “failing to perform” since assuming the reins of the country. “Accuse me all you like. Bring forward not one but 50 cases against us and hang us, we won't be frightened. It doesn’t affect me or the public. We will continue the fight,” the former president said.Zardari noted that the stock market lost $50 billion since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was voted into power.

“Why choose to do a job where you cannot [perform]?” he questioned. “Even a mango garden cannot be prepared in five years, how will you [change] the country in five years?” “We know what the public wants. That’s why they vote for us. Our fight is for the truth and democracy.”The PPP leader vowed to keep working to take Shaheed Benazir Bhutto’s vision forward. “Bibi has left this responsibility to me to help the poor. We will continue to work for the poor,” he added.

Faizan Bangash adds from Lahore: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the meetings between Asif Ali Zardari and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman were always result-oriented but at present, no efforts were under way for the grand opposition alliance.

Talking to the media on Sunday at the residence of party’s former vice chairman late Sh Rasheed, to express condolence over the death of his widow, former MNA Begum Shakeela Rasheed, Bilawal said the NAB and other institutions were working on the instructions of the government.

While slamming the government, he stated that the history never witnessed such an incompetent government, adding nation was combating inflation and the country’s economy was heading towards destruction. To a question, he said meetings between former president Asif Ali Zardari and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had taken place a number of times but the opposition was focusing on prevailing issues and would give tough time to the government.

To another question about the JIT report, he stated it was fake and meant for ‘political engineering’, adding he had already exposed the greater conspiracy and plan against the 18th Amendment. Bilawal said instead of bowing before the government pressure, the NAB chairman should act in accordance with law.

He added some forces were bent upon defaming the PPP leadership whereas the NAB and other institutions were working under the government pressure whereas the media trial of the PPP was also being done.

Bilawal added that Zardari had appeared before the JIT but his version wasn’t made the part of the report which was only done to mislead the nation and court. He asserted that he would respond to the political assaults on his party in the political arena and would also move court.

He also said the PPP could solely play the role of opposition as in past as well, it had braved hardships in dictatorial eras and wasn’t afraid of threats or victimisation. He added that Zardari faced imprisonment for 11 years without any offence. He also said since he was a one-year-old child, he had been listening to the news relating to the arrest of his father. Even in the times of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal said the PPP faced trial and combated the challenges bravely.

About the PPP strategy regarding a change in the Senate and its chairman’s election, he said Zardari was the only politician who was capable of uniting the political forces. He said he was the first elected civilian president who completed his term despite the fact that his party lacked majority.

Meanwhile, film actor Moammer Rana called on PPP chairman at the Bilawal House Lahore Sunday and announced joining the party. While welcoming him to the party’s fold, he said the film industry was in crisis and it should be granted the status of a full-fledged industry.