Selective accountability, sacred cow syndrome worst corruption, says Zardari

LAHORE: PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari on Monday said selective accountability, the sacred cow syndrome, double standards and using corruption for political engineering were the worst forms of corruption.

“We should also address the issue of intellectual corruption, and those who upheld constitutional deviations under the PCO, validated takeovers by dictators and undermined national security through non-state actors must also be held accountable,” he said on the eve of the 88th birth anniversary of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

“Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto believed that power belonged to the people and it’s time to reiterate the commitment to disallow any individual or institution to usurp power that belonged to the people and people alone,” PPP spokesperson Farhatullah Babar quoted Zardari as saying.

Zardari urged the people, particularly the youth, to study the political philosophy of the country’s first directly-elected prime minister to draw inspiration for overcoming myriads of social, economic and political challenges.

Zardari said the PPP will not permit fanatics to usurp power in the name of religion.“We will also not allow any individual or institution to usurp this power on any pretext whatsoever,” he said.

“Shaheed Bhutto gave the country a unanimous Constitution. It envisages that power to make or amend the Constitution and the laws on behalf of the people rests with parliament and parliament alone,” he said.

The judiciary has the power to review the laws made by parliament on the touchstone of the Constitution but it cannot make laws on its own. And the executive has to implement those laws without interference,” he added.

“Today, on the eve of the birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhutto we reiterate our pledge to stoutly protect this Constitutional scheme of things. On this occasion, I would also like to say that the PPP believes that corruption is a scourge that must be eliminated,” said Zardari.