Zardari to undertake three-day trip to Peshawar on Sept 15

PESHAWAR: Former President Asif Ali Zardari will visit the provincial capital from September 15 to 17 while the September 14 public meeting of Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in Hathian village in Mardan district has been postponed due to security reasons.

During his three-day visit to Peshawar, Zardari will meet people from different walks of life and also attend the wedding ceremony of the son of former federal minister Arbab Alamgir Khan and Asma Alamgir. Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Ziaullah Afridi, who recently joined the PPP after being expelled from PTI, will arrange a reception for Zardari, who is the co-chairman of the party.

Certain PPP leaders in separate chats with The News said that arrangements had been finalised to accord a warm welcome to Zardari. They said that leaders of different political parties would also announce joining the PPP during Zardari’s visit.

Former provincial senior minister Rahimdad Khan, who hails from Hathian village in Mardan, said that the forthcoming visit of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to his village had been postponed. “There is some confusion at the higher level. The next date for the public meeting will be announced soon,” he added. The PPP leaders in KP were of the opinion that the next visit of Zardari was quite important as it would boost the party’s activities and help overcome organisational issues. Humayun Khan, said that it was for the first time in the party’s history that the party chief a few months ago spent five days in Peshawar instead of the scheduled two days.