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Zardari for political unity to cope with challenges
KARACHI: Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Friday stressed the need for political unity to cope with challenges facing the country. Addressing a public gathering in Garhi Khuda Bukhsh on the sixth death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, Zardari said that political forces had been pitted against each other through various manipulations. There is a war ongoing with a mindset, the former president said, adding, “A war [Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif cannot fight single-handedly, but we will have to adopt a joint front.” Zardari also made it clear that the PPP wanted to back the government against the extremist mindset. Zardari said he does not want any long march on to Islamabad. “We have opposed midterm elections and want the government to complete its constitutional term,” said Zardari, adding that the PPP would continue raising voice against mistakes and wrong policies of the government. The former president also spoke about how power is unpredictable in Pakistan, saying that there is no political certainty. “We pray that the current regime succeeds with Allah’s blessings; power is a mortal thing which comes and goes frequently but Pakistan is more important for us than the power,” he said. “I pray for the success of this PML-N government, and availability of one hundred billion dollars forex reserves,” he said and added that privatisation of national assets was a “blunder on part of the government which we will continue to resist” in order to guide the government towards a better solution. According to the former president, Talibanisation in Pakistan had stemmed from poverty. Referring to former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf, Zardari said that an ensnared ‘Billa’ (tomcat) was begging pardon for his wrongdoings. “We never asked that ’Billa’ to return home. Now trapped, he shouldn’t be allowed to escape without having to face the music for overthrowing a democratic government and eight years of dictatorship”, said Zardari. “Whenever politicians get embroiled in infighting, the sneaky cat appears on the scene; something we have to stop,” he stated.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk