Neither in contact with Nawaz nor want to be: Zardari

LAHORE: Former president Asif Ali Zardari has ruled out any dialogue with Nawaz Sharif, the ousted prime minister, in the wake of the current political situation.

“Neither he (Nawaz) is in contact with me nor do I want to contact him, so there is no possibility of any dialogue. The PPP will also not become part of any Grand National Dialogue” said Zardari while taking his party stalwarts into confidence over the prevailing situation.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who reached Lahore on Wednesday, also later joined the meeting at the Bilawal House.Senior leaders – former chief minister Manzoor Wattoo, PPP Central Punjab president Qamar Zaman Kaira, General Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan, Secretary Information Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and others — were also present on the occasion.

Zardari said Nawaz had different priorities when he was in power and they changed once he came under a cloud.He asked the former prime minister why he remained silent on the issue of articles 62, 63 while he was in the government but he wanted to remove these from the Constitution after losing power.

“Not democracy but Nawaz’s politics is at stake now,” Zardari was quoted as saying by a party insider.Sources stated that the party members present on the occasion completely endorsed the leadership’s stance for not extending a helping hand to Nawaz in the present situation.

Zardari also lauded the efforts of the party organisation for a successful public meeting addressed by Bilawal in Chiniot recently. He also directed the party organization to participate in the NA-120 by-poll with full fervour.

Talking to The News, Khokhar confirmed the position expressed by Zardari and said the PPP had rendered sacrifices for democracy but “democracy doesn’t mean Nawaz Sharif”.He said the PPP was the name of an ideology and it had always extended support to political forces for strengthening democracy and advocated the idea of national reconciliation to promote a genuine democratic and political culture in Pakistan for the benefit of masses.

However, he said it wouldn’t support anyone whose vision always revolved around strengthening himself, not democracy.Asim Yasin adds from Islamabad: The PPP spokesperson, Senator Farhatullah Babar, has dispelled the impression that the presence of Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto in Lahore was aimed at having a meeting with Nawaz.

Babar said the party’s policy on the issue had already been articulated by Bilawal at his press talk in Islamabad and in public meeting in Chiniot, rejecting any dialogue with the PML-N in the present circumstances.