'Khawaja Asif may have spoken against me on someone's direction' : Asif Ali Zadari

[The Viper]

ISLAMABAD: Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari on Monday said "PML-N stalwart Khawaja Asif may have spoken against me on someone's direction".

The former president said Asif's statement was an attempt to divide the Opposition. He underscored that such cases keep coming to light if one is a member of the opposition.

Earlier, on September 30, the former foreign minister disclosed on Express News talk show ‘To The Point With Mansoor Ali Khan’ his reservations against Zardari.

The PML-N leader maintained that it was "difficult" for him to trust Zardari, suggesting there is still some bad blood between the two parties, which were once bitter rivals. "I still have reservations against this gentleman [Zardari]," he added.

The PML-N leader said that he still had qualms about trusting Zardari and his opinion of the former president had not changed.

“It is difficult for me to believe him [Zardari] even today,” he added. "I will say this again and again, I don’t believe him.”

However, former premier and PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif told reporters in London that he disagreed with his party man’s statement. “This is not our party policy. I have a great deal of respect for Asif Ali Zardari sahib and he is a part of the PDM,” he added.

“I don’t know whether he [Khawaja Asif] has given this statement or not but I have conveyed to you about what I feel about him [Zardari].”

Asif’s statement came at a time when the opposition parties are preparing to stage their first rally under the banner of their newly formed alliance on October 18 in Quetta, as part of their strategy to send the PTI-led government packing.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2267004/khawaja-asif-may-have-spoken-against-me-on-someones-direction

 

[Savak]

Lot of respect for Zardari.

 

[Bewal Express]

Lot of respect for Zardari.

Those were the days when the crooks could make fools of the public by accusing each other of looting while enjoy the loot together.

 

[Savak]

Those were the days when the crooks could make fools of the public by accusing each other of looting while enjoy the loot together.

The one thing to admire about Zardari is that he is more of a man than NS. The guy withstood torture in jail for almost a decade but never once ratted on his friends and allies. The guy is also strong, calm under pressure and does a much better job of covering his tracks, loose ends compared to the Qatari letter ganja.

Prosecutors just cannot nab this guy because he hires the best lawyers, he finds a way of killing judges, witnesses, tampering with incriminating evidence, he uses plenty of middle men and leaves no trail. There is a reason why he never fears any Courts or NAB

 

[MenInG]

A Pakistani court has formally charged former President Asif Ali Zardari in two corruption cases, while a provincial government has admitted a case of sedition against three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and 40 others, including the premier of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The cases against these high-profile names come as Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party prepare for a large anti-government rally targeting Prime Minister Imran Khan.

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Sharif’s PML-N is a leading member of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), launched last month as an alliance of opposition parties aimed at bringing down Khan’s government, which remains largely popular.

The PDM is set to hold its first public protest on October 16 in the central Pakistani city of Gujranwala, the movement announced on Monday.

The corruption cases against Zardari escalate the legal challenges facing the leading opposition member of parliament who served as president of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013, after Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was forced to resign.

He is the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served twice as prime minister before she was assassinated in 2007 in an attack that saw her shot at by a gunman who also detonated an explosive vest he was wearing.


Zardari was released on bail on medical grounds last December, six months after his arrest for corruption.

During Monday’s court appearance in the capital, Islamabad, Zardari pleaded not guilty to money laundering and other corruption charges. He later told reporters he was not surprised by the indictment and that he had been facing such charges for as long as he was in the opposition.

He is accused of having dozens of bogus bank accounts, a charge he denies, saying he has been politically victimised by Khan’s government.

Since coming to power, Khan has vowed to make good on his election campaign promise to eliminate corruption. His government says the corruption cases against Zardari began during Sharif’s tenure.

Meanwhile, Sharif’s PML-N on Monday said police in Punjab province had initiated a treason case against him and other party leaders, including former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and prime minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Raja Farooq Haider.

The sedition case against Sharif, filed by a private citizen in Lahore, is based on speeches made by him and his allies in which they attacked the country’s powerful military for alleged political interference.

Last week, Sharif – speaking from his exile in London – accused Pakistan’s powerful military of rigging the 2018 election that brought Khan to power. Khan dismissed the allegations as baseless, accusing Sharif of “playing India’s game” and criticising the military to benefit the country’s enemies.

Pakistan’s military has directly ruled the country for roughly half of its 73-year history since independence. Since 2018, when Khan was elected in a controversial election, the army has taken an increasingly active role in governance in partnership with the civilian government.

Under Pakistani laws, anyone charged for treason can be sentenced to death if found guilty.

“If [Maryam Nawaz, Sharif’s daughter, and her husband] speak against the military, against the security agencies, against the courts, against democratic institutions, and on top of that, you are already a convict […] should they be saluted, or given a garland of flowers? There will be cases against them,” Punjab’s Information Minister Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan said during a news conference on Monday.

Chohan, who is a member of the governing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party led by Imran Khan, claimed the Pakistani constitution “says clearly that there will be no criticism against the Pakistani army or security agencies”.

Article 19 of the Pakistani constitution, which deals with freedom of expression, states that such freedom “will be subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest […] security or defence of Pakistan”, among others.

Later on Monday, however, Khan distanced himself from the sedition case, which, under Pakistani law, would require the federal government to lay the charges formally if they are to be pursued.

“The prime minister was unaware of this FIR, and when I brought it to his attention […] he expressed extreme displeasure at it,” Fawad Chaudhry, a senior leader in the ruling PTI and current minister of science and technology, said on Monday.

The 70-year-old Sharif, who served three times as prime minister, was removed in 2017 over corruption allegations. He was released on bail last year for four weeks to seek medical treatment abroad and has been in London since November.

Last month, a court issued arrest warrants for Sharif, who was previously sentenced to seven years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges stemming from disclosures in the Panama Papers.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/6/pakistan-officially-charges-ex-president-zardari-for-graft

 

[SensiblePakFan]

The one thing to admire about Zardari is that he is more of a man than NS. The guy withstood torture in jail for almost a decade but never once ratted on his friends and allies. The guy is also strong, calm under pressure and does a much better job of covering his tracks, loose ends compared to the Qatari letter ganja.

Prosecutors just cannot nab this guy because he hires the best lawyers, he finds a way of killing judges, witnesses, tampering with incriminating evidence, he uses plenty of middle men and leaves no trail. There is a reason why he never fears any Courts or NAB

Yup, the best crook always stays 2 steps ahead.

 

[Giannis]

The one thing to admire about Zardari is that he is more of a man than NS. The guy withstood torture in jail for almost a decade but never once ratted on his friends and allies. The guy is also strong, calm under pressure and does a much better job of covering his tracks, loose ends compared to the Qatari letter ganja.

Prosecutors just cannot nab this guy because he hires the best lawyers, he finds a way of killing judges, witnesses, tampering with incriminating evidence, he uses plenty of middle men and leaves no trail. There is a reason why he never fears any Courts or NAB

lol He's human garbage he executed his brother in law and anyone that crossed him.

 

[MenInG]

LAHORE: Opposition PML-N has spoken its mind about stopping the PTI government from holding the Senate elections in March, saying when the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) protest campaign reaches its peak, the PML-N’s 84 members will resign from the National Assembly.

PML-N senior leader Khawaja Asif said this at the party lawmakers’ meeting in Model Town on Thursday, which was also addressed by former prime minister and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif via video link from London.

“When this struggle (of the PDM) reaches its peak, our 84 MNAs will resign from the National Assembly and then we will see how the Senate polls are held,” Mr Asif said. On the call of the party’s parliamentary leader (in the National Assembly) every single member of the PML-N would resign, he said. “The party lawmakers are standing with its leadership in this testing time,” he said.

Interestingly, neither Mr Asif nor any other leader talked about whether resignations from MNAs of other parties, particularly the PPP and JUI-F, would come along with those of PML-N lawmakers, as both parties are part of the PDM and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is its president.

Asked whether it would be a joint strategy of the PDM or the PML-N would go solo on resignations, a senior PML-N leader told Dawn that Mr Asif spoke only about his party. “Let the time come; the opposition parties under the PDM banner will make a unanimous decision in this regard,” he said.

However, a party insider said that it would not be easy for the PML-N leadership to evolve consensus over resignations. “There is many a slip between the cup and the lip... Let this stage come and see even if the PML-N is willing to act upon its today’s proposal,” he said.

Responding immediately to the PML-N’s plan on resignations, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill said in a tweet: “Maryam Safdar Sahiba — you have given the threat of resigning from the assemblies... why you wait till March, resign and we hold elections on the vacant seats. Imran Khan will not succumb to your threats.”

Prime Minister Khan has already announced that his government will hold by-polls if the opposition resigns from the assemblies.

Most of the PML-N members of the Senate, National Assembly and provincial assemblies had gathered at the party’s provincial secretariat and pledged their support to their leadership during its struggle to give respect to the ballot and get rid of the “selected” PTI government.

Speaking on the occasion, Nawaz Sharif took a pledge from the participants to stand with him during his struggle to establish the people’s rule and supremacy of law and constitution.

He talked about ineffectiveness of the parliament. “I ask those who imposed this man (Imran Khan) on the nation to see the people’s passion. I ask you to get rid of him soon as Imran Khan is responsible for making the lives of the masses miserable,” he said, adding that “this incapable man” (PM) had destroyed the country’s economy.

“People are dying of hunger and prices of daily use items have skyrocketed. People cannot even afford two meals a day and who is responsible...it is Imran Khan and those who brought him to power through a manipulated and rigged 2018 polls,” he said.

He also questioned Imran Khan’s assets. “What are the sources of income of Imran Khan? From which sources he made his Banigala house? When his sister Aleema Khan and Asim Saleem Bajwa will give money trails?” he asked. He said that former chief justice Saqib Nisar had given Mr Khan clean chit but the people of Pakistan were asking him to provide money trail of his assets.

Mr Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz also spoke about the first PDM rally in Gujranwala on Oct 16 and asked the lawmakers to make the protest drive a success in the face of hardships.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2020

https://www.dawn.com/news/1584049/pml-n-mnas-to-resign-before-senate-polls-asif

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif Monday asked the ousted prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan to decide whether the incumbent government was "imported" or had the establishment "made a mistake".

Former information and law minister Fawad Chaudhry had said last month that their government was ousted as its ties with the establishment were "strained", but the PTI subsequently has also claimed that the US was behind ousting their regime.

In a tweet today, the ex-prime minister had openly called out the Biden administration for its involvement in a "regime change conspiracy" in Pakistan.

"My question for the Biden Administration: By indulging in a regime change conspiracy to remove a democratically elected PM of a country of over 220 mn people to bring in a puppet PM, do you think you have lessened or increased anti-American sentiment in Pakistan?" the PTI chairman said.


The incumbent government officials have repeatedly said that Khan is blaming America for his ouster as he had failed to deliver during his tenure, but the PTI chairman remains adamant that the US, in collaboration with the then-Opposition, was behind his ouster.

In response to PTI's statements — of strained ties with the establishment and US-backed conspiracy — Khawaja Asif, during an interview with a private television, said Khan repeatedly says the coalition government was backed by the United States.

"Imran Khan calls us an imported government who is backed by the US. But he should decide at once whether we are imported or had the establishment made a mistake," Asif stressed.

'Why should we hold fresh elections?'
Moving on, Asif said after PTI's ouster, the party was demanding new elections, but before its fall, they claimed that their government would complete its tenure and also come into power for a second consecutive term.

"Why should we hold fresh elections? We removed Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion — a democratic move," the defence minister said.

The defence minister said the no-confidence move to remove Khan partially helped the coalition government right the "wrong" of the 2018 general election.

Asif asked all the political parties and the institutions — judiciary, establishment, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) — to help hold the next polls transparently.

Incident at Masjid-e-Nabawi
On the incident that occurred in Masjid-e-Nabawi, Asif said Khan's aides, Sahibzada Jahangir, Aneel Mussarat, and others, had flown from London to Saudi Arabia and were present there.

Asif said the Saudi authorities had taken notice of the incident and had launched a probe into it.

Alleged PTI supporters had hurled abuses and also launched a physical attack on the delegation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while they were at the Masjid-e-Nabawi. The authorities had arrested as many as five people suspected involved.

The defence minister also clarified that Nawaz's son, Hussain Nawaz, was not present in any official meetings while the government delegation was in KSA.

'Is he Farah Gogi's advisor?'
Asif, taking a jibe at the ousted prime minister, said he was now defending his wife Bushra Bibi's close aide Farhat Shehzadi aka Farah Khan.

"Is he Farah Gogi's advisor that he is defending her?" the minister questioned, noting that recently ex-information minister Fawad Chaudhry had claimed that Farah had no links to the PTI.

Khan, finally breaking his silence over the corruption allegations against Farah in a press conference yesterday, had claimed that the cases against his wife's aide were "totally wrong."

Nawaz's return; using Article 6 against Khan
Speaking about other matters, Asif said PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would "most definitely" return to Pakistan, but he was unaware of the details of the plan.

"I am not aware that the punishments handed down to Nawaz will be forgiven. Although, appeals have already been filed against his convictions," Asif noted.

He also said that he does not believe in retaliatory actions and was not in the favour of using Article 6 — which deals with constitutional violations — against the PTI chairman.

GEO