Dubious Statements of the President and the PM
By Dr. Ghayur Ayub
London , UK
Addressing party members on August 4, President Asif Ali Zardari commented on Pervaiz Musharaf’s statement claiming that he would have remained president if Benazir were alive. Without attempting to contradict the statement, AIZ bragged that he had removed Musharraf from the presidency.
The next day, responding to a hard hitting speech from Ch Nisar in which he demanded a trial of the former president, the Prime Minister announced that if the parliament ‘unanimously’ passed a resolution, he would support the trial.
Two points stand out in the two statements: Mr Zardari did not challenge Musharaf’s claim about Benazir’s commitment given to him; Mr Gilani gave a twist to the issue by adding the word ‘unanimously’, knowing well that Ch Shujat had earlier declared that his party would oppose such a resolution.
In the two statements, the former put Benazir Bhutto hand-in-glove with Pervaiz Musharaf vis-a-vis the disputed understanding; and the latter hinted at protecting the ex-president in his trial. The next few weeks will prove whether it was a slip of the tongue or tongue in cheek when the two gave such dubious statements.
