Zardari, Imran are cut from same cloth, says Nawaz

SAHIWAL/ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said their fight was not with Imran Khan or Asif Ali Zardari but against “those hidden forces which you cannot see”. Voting for anyone other than the PML-N was tantamount to supporting the hidden forces and formation of a "government of stooges”, he added.

Talking about the Supreme Court verdict to disqualify him, he asked his supporters to bin the judgment through the power of their votes. Explaining his slogan of “Respect the Vote”, Nawaz said giving respect to vote meant whatever happened in the last 70 years should not be repeated in the next 70.

Addressing a rally at the Sheikh Zafar Ali Stadium, the PML-N supremo said Imran had become a stooge and sold himself after a deal, adding that the PTI members stamped at the symbol of arrow in the Senate elections.

“You should be ashamed of yourself. Do you consider the people a fool?” he said and remarked that Zardari would not oppose Imran and vice versa as they were the same. "They all have a secret understanding. Imran voted for arrow [PPP's electoral symbol]," he said and added that they were reversing back the Roshan Pakistan.

Addressing Imran, Nawaz said Mr Darling could never achieve his goal, adding that he was a complete failure and still couldn’t pass the nursery grade. The former premier questioned was there anyone to inquire the ones, who had exploited Haj pilgrims. His remark was a clear reference to the Haj corruption scandal that surfaced during the tenure of the PPP-led government.

Listing the achievements his government, Nawaz said they brought CPEC, overcame the power crisis, rooted out terrorism from the country and restored peace in Karachi. What the PTI government had achieved in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the three-time prime minister questioned. Visit Peshawar and asked them what kind of Naya Pakistan was being built or whether they had ended loadshedding there, Nawaz asked the charged crowd.

Earlier in her speech, Maryam Nawaz said Imran always played the role of a 'guest actor' in elections. "When Imran's party in elections ends, he is nowhere to be found then," she said, adding that the PTI chief would 'disappear' after the upcoming general elections.

"It is only Imran's fate to be used as a pawn," she said and vowed to give a befitting response in the upcoming elections with the help of Almighty Allah and the people. Maryam remarked that verdicts were issued one after another and sometimes a judgment was being given again and again. The one who bowed down and sold out himself was qualified but the one who stood by his stance was disqualified, she remarked.

Taunting the PTI for bringing people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for its Lahore rally and still unable to assemble a sizeable crowd, she said the people of Lahore had refused to even listen to them. Those attending the PML-N rallies were also always local whether it was Sahiwal or Swat or Peshawar, she added.

Earlier in the day, Nawaz said Zardari’s recent statement did not befit the head of a national party, adding that he did not want to engage in a war of words with the former president. In a statement, Nawaz asked whether Zardari was so innocent that he got duped by him [Nawaz]. He claimed that he sent a message disliking Zardari’s remarks during his ‘anti-establishment’ speech in 2015 as having differences with the military dictator didn’t mean bulldozing the entire institution. He then cancelled a planned meeting with Zardari the next day, the former prime minister said.

The PML-N supremo advised the PPP leader not to distort history and avoid mudslinging. He wondered why Zardari didn’t make public his claim that he [Nawaz] advised him to make the remarks.

“Why is Zardari now speaking the ‘truth’ after three years,” he asked, asserting that being opposed to former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf shouldn’t translate into being against an institution.

"To become a part of the government, our conditions were Musharraf’s impeachment, restoration of the deposed judges and abolition of the 17th Amendment," Nawaz shared.

“Zardari should remember he came to meet me in Raiwind along with a national political figure,” recalled Nawaz. He claimed he rejected Zardari’s proposal to condone Musharraf’s action by an act of Parliament, adding, “Zardari is aware that he has nothing to do with the NAB action against Dr Asim Hussain and other Sindh government members.”

"Zardari said he was acting on my directions. Now he should tell the public whose puppet he is," said Nawaz. The three-time prime minister then advised Zardari to read the writing on the wall and focus on the upcoming elections and refrain from mudslinging.