President Asif Ali Zardari. Photo: File
LAHORE:
Lashing out at the PTI founder who was jailed for the third time in four days, President Asif Ali Zardari said that if Imran Khan was not ready to serve a prison term, he should not have entered politics as “serving time requires honour”.
Speaking at a rally in Vehari on Tuesday, Zardari, without naming Imran Khan, said he should have pursued charity work or opened cricket clubs and stuck to one profession if he was not ready to face the rigors of prison.
The President was apparently referring to recent efforts by the PTI and opposition parties to secure Imran’s transfer to a hospital and his release, given his deteriorating vision in his right eye. Imran has been detained in Adiala Prison since September 2023.
Referring to his own incarceration, Zardari said that when he was released, his son Bilawal – whom he left behind as a little boy – had grown taller than him. “Immediately after I was released from prison, I had a heart attack,” he said.
Most of the questions during the interaction revolved around the PTI, which has been in hot waters since the ouster of the Imran Khan government in April 2022.
Zardari claimed that Imran Khan was not running the government, but rather the then ISI DG Faiz. [Hameed]who he believed was running the country.
“What would he know about running the country?” he remarked. Asked about the links between the PPP and the PML-N, Zardari said the alliance was formed out of concern for the country, suggesting that otherwise an aggressive ideology would have prevailed.
Criticizing the PTI-led government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Zardari said it had done nothing for the province. He noted that only one individual knew how to deliver daily sermons.
Referring indirectly to Imran Khan’s sons who raised concerns over denial of meetings, he said that after the country was free from his “sermons” for a year and a half, his sons started complaining about not being allowed to meet him. He added that Imran Khan’s tenure had set the country back decades.
On Kashmir, the President reiterated that it was an integral part of Pakistan, calling it the country’s jugular vein, and said: “No Kashmir, no Pakistan.” He said the country was blessed in every way, but it lacked continuity.
Two PPP leaders, when asked about the president’s recent stance – which appears to be a departure from the party’s long-standing stance on human rights – said he was seeking to improve the party’s future prospects by aligning himself with the corridors of power.
“The PPP has a political future to safeguard, which requires such positions,” an official said, adding that the party has moved from resistance and reconciliation to compromise given the current situation.
Several executives were contacted for comment but were not available. Zardari, who arrived in Lahore after a tour of Punjab, also chaired a meeting of local and provincial PPP leaders at Bilawal House and discussed internal affairs of the party.
The party’s divisional and district presidents, Central Punjab PPP executive committee members and new district in-charges of Central Punjab attended the meeting.
In his speech, the president stressed the importance of political dialogue and unity. He said democratic engagement is the most powerful instrument for justice, national cohesion and progress.
