PPP directs leaders not to issue statements of Zardari

 Only Farhatullah can issue co-chairman’s statements

ISLAMABAD: After being in an utter state of confusion about issuance of controversial statement attributed to former president Asif Ali Zardari regarding announcement of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif not to get extension in his service, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has directed its members that none other than Senator Farhatullah Babar would now issue statement of the party co-chairman to media.

PPP’s Senator Saeed Ghani who rectified the statement of former president Asif Ali Zardari before its re-issuance to media told ‘The News’ that Senator Farhatullah Babar was out of country due to which some other person issued wrong statement of the party co-chairman to media that definitely made his admirers and party members shell shocked for quite some time.

“The party has launched investigation into the matter and initially findings suggest that the media statement was not issued by any of the party media cells working in Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad.

It is not important who had issued the statement because the party has directed all the members that now only Senator Farhatullah Babar would be responsible to issue statements of Asif Ali Zardari to media,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that PPP on Wednesday denied the statement of party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari over retirement of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif and announced that it would investigate how it was released to media. Senator Farhatullah Babar was out of the country and this statement was issued without taking him into confidence despite the fact that he has been official spokesperson of Asif Ali Zardari for last many years.

The sources pointed out that there was something ‘fishy’ in this episode because a PPP MPA had filed a resolution in the Punjab Assembly seeking an extension in the services of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif amid hue and cry by many quarters over alleged statement of Asif Ali Zardari in the mainstream media.

Senator Saeed Ghani said even some statements of the prime minister were wrongly issued despite having strong professional machinery in the Prime Minister House, adding “The mistake can be done by anyone but the best thing is that the party responded timely and removed confusion about the alleged statement of Asif Ali Zardari.”

To a question, he said PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had not talked with the party members about alleged statement of Asif Ali Zardari and maintained that sometime things happened unexpectedly in the field of politics and media.