File photo, courtesy PPP Media Cell
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Friday stressed that general elections should be held simultaneously nationwide with a level playing field for all parties.
In an interview with Geo News anchor Hamid Mir, the former president rejected the impression that general elections could be delayed beyond October, describing it as a “foolish thought” and saying he did not think it was possible. He said all political stakeholders should commit to dialogue develop consensus on a single date for elections.
“Coalition parties will decide, through collective wisdom, the time and date of next elections,” he said. “But first we have to take care of our economy, our assemblies and friendly countries,” he said, adding that polls could not be fair and transparent if they were held before the economy were stabilized and the country’s foreign policy fully revived. .
On the possibility of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerging victorious in the next general elections, Zardari said it was possible—though rubbished the view that party chief Imran Khan could achieve a two-thirds majority. “It is very difficult task in today’s Pakistan,” he said, adding that the PTI’s “strong” social media presence sometimes presented false propaganda that people believed.
To a question on whether he though Khan was upset that the ruling coalition was emerging out of some of the many crises engulfing the nation, Zardari said he could not speak for the PTI chief. However, he added, other party leaders had been “disturbed” by the development.
Confirming that he had convinced Shehbaz Sharif to become prime minister, the PPP leader told Mir that the vote of no-confidence was not achieved through horse-trading, but rather through a shared desire to better the country. He said one of the reasons the PTI’s former allies had sided with the incumbent government was that Khan had not fulfilled promises to them. To a question, he said it was too early to say whether the parties comprising the ruling alliance would contest elections on a single platform, but hoped that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would continue in future.
Referring to ties between the PPP and the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM), Zardari said it would strengthen since both parties had stakes in Karachi as well as other parts of Sindh. He also said that he had been trying to facilitate these ties, adding that the MQM had picked the governor of Sindh.
To a question on his ties with Parvez Elahi—formerly of the PMLQ and now president of the PTI—Zardari said it was regrettable that he had reneged on his promise to join the PDM. “I still wish he will return to us,” he added.
Discussing the “regime change conspiracy” narrative of Khan, the PPP leader alleged it was a “drama” to avoid scrutiny for a case that had been filed against the PTI chief in the U.S. He also claimed that the reason Khan found so much support within the judiciary and the establishment was because of his “domicile”—a reference to the PTI chief being a Punjabi compared to Zardari’s Sindhi heritage. He also pushed back against Khan’s perceived popularity, claiming the PTI chief “paid” supporters.
Detailing some of the reasons for the vote of no-confidence, he said he and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had told former Army chief Gen. (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa to not ask Khan to resign to avoid his ouster. Accepting that the incumbent government had lost political ground after ousting the PTI, he maintained that it was “necessary” because Khan had a plan to stay in power till 2035 “by picking the Army chief of his choice.”
To a question on whether he believed the current military leadership was neutral, Zardari said it should be neutral and all state institutions should work within their own domains.