I can endure prison but what about the captain: Zardari

PESHAWAR: Former president and Co-chairman of the PPP Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said he can again endure the prison but what will the captain (Imran Khan) do if he faced prison?
Addressing a workers convention here at the house of former federal minister Arbab Alamgir Khan, Zardari said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had claimed to bring about a change in the life of the people but failed to deliver in its two-year rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that he had spent 12 long years in jail but not compromised on democracy and rights of masses. He said the PPP leaders had laid down their lives but never compromised on the rights of the people and democracy.
Expressing resentment at the alleged political victimisation by the PTI government, the PPP co-chairman said let the tsunami play all its cards, but they would never succeed in eliminating the PPP.“Martial law regimes have failed to eliminate the pro-poor and pro-people party so how is it possible for Imran Khan to do it?” he asked.
He went on saying that fake Pakhtuns were ruling the KP. Without mentioning the alleged support of the establishment to the PTI, the PPP leader said, “We are well aware about the journey of tsunami from Karachi to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” adding that the PPP never accepted the May 2013 general elections but for the sake of continuation of democracy they were sitting in parliament.
He said the rulers had been badly exposed for their worst performance and asked the party workers to start preparations for the general elections.“I am sure we will win the next general elections,” he said and added that in the last general polls, they had been forced to stay away from workers and could not run the election campaign but this time no one could block them.
Former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, Senator Rehman Malik, Sherry Rehman, Senator Farhatullah Babar, Arbab Alamgir Khan, his wife Asma Alamgir, Khanzada Khan, Humayun Khan and other leaders as well as a large number of party activists were present on the occasion.
Asif Zardari also held a meeting with party leaders of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and discussed the party affairs, particularly the organisational matters of the party in the province. He said politics required acumen and maturity and running the affairs of the government was altogether different from leading a cricket team.
The PPP leader said the PTI government failed to handle the issue of internally displaced persons (IDPs) of North Waziristan. He said the KP government received prior information of the attack on the Army Public School but it failed to protect the innocent children.
The PPP co-chairman said it was the PPP government that not only restored peace in Swat but also repatriated more than 2.5 million IDPs in a short time with honour and dignity.“Successful repatriation of such a large number of IDPs and their resettlement was one of the biggest achievements of the PPP government,” he remarked.
Zardari said the PPP also restored the 1973 Constitution and he returned his powers to parliament. He said the PPP had introduced politics of reconciliation and strengthened democracy and democratic institutions.
He said no one was ready to give identity to the Pakhtuns. He said it was the PPP which not only gave an identity to the Pakhtuns but also more provincial autonomy through the 18th Amendment.