Long on rhetoric & short on substance. Its has been 4 years since PPP took over the country & what has he delivered? Now he thinks he is Aung San suu Kye?
GARHI KHUDA BUX: Embattled but defiant President Asif Ali Zardari used the fourth death anniversary of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto to ensure party supporters he would not resign in the face of numerous crises building around him.
In a dig at the Supreme Court, which is hearing the memo case, he asked about the as yet unsolved case of his wife Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. “People ask what happened to Benazir Bhutto’s case,” he said. “I ask (Chief Justice) Iftikhar Chaudhry: what happened to Benazir Bhutto’s case?”
Speaking from behind a bullet-proof screen, Zardari appeared relaxed and healthy. The president said, “alas! if only the courts were under me.” President Zardari vowed to defend the Constitution and said he would not let anyone damage the federation.
The president said he was determined to fight for democracy, but in a democratic manner. “We will fight any evil eye that is a threat to the federation, but our way will be that of Aung San Suu Kye,” the president said, referring to the Myanmar leader, known the world over for her struggle for democracy.
The president said all his steps would be under the Constitution, that was restored during his stint in power. Wearing a Sindhi cap, a beaming president told an emotionally charged crowd that he was the son of the soil and could feel the pain of this land. Accordingto some independent estimates around 500,000 people had thronged the venue.
President Zardari said all forces were under the parliament, adding he always listened to the prime minister because he represented the federation and was a representative of the people through the parliament.
He said he decided to hand over all powers to the prime minister as he wanted the democracy to nurture. He asked the people and the party workers to remain steadfast and not to be deterred by temporary challenges.
He said he would never let his people fight or sacrifice for his sake. “We will fight for democracy as we do not fight for seats.” The president said only real democracy could deliver and pointed that attempts were being made to introduce “tailor-made democracies”. He said those who were now jumping fences do not have any significant achievements to their credit.
“Democracy can deliver and will deliver,” he said. He paid rich tributes to Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani for remaining steadfast and said he stood by him. He said though protocol wise, Gilani reported to him, but in fact, the prime minister was the leader of all.
“You would not find Yusuf Raza Gilani stumble at any stage,” the president said. President Zardari said four personalities of the Bhutto family had sacrificed their precious lives that made him able to stand at Garhi Khuda Bux and face this mammoth crowd.
He said his young daughter Aseefa Bhutto will be the flag bearer, and start her journey right from the place where it was dropped by her slain mother in Rawalpindi, to carry on the family tradition of serving the people of Pakistan.
The president said the PPP was not a party of inheritance, but regretted that the country had no leader after the death of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The president said he gave an identity to the Pashtuns and no one can take back that identity for centuries to come.
The president said he wants to help the people of Balochistan and end their problems, adding it would have to be done within the framework of the federation. “We have spent years in jails,” he said, mentioning six years imprisonment of the prime minister and 12 years of his own imprisonment.
He asked the Balochs to fight the way he himself fights and referred to his life long struggle. The president said he would do all for the Balochs, but stressed that it would only be done while remaining under the federation.
The president also favoured a separate province in South Punjab, and said “the people seek their rights from Takht-e-Lahore.” He mentioned that the case of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is still pending with the courts and regretted that other cases were getting the attention, while important ones were pending.
He said he had decided not to pursue the investigation by the United Nations as it did not question the former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He said he would write an article in Washington Post and raise questions on it.
The president waved a copy of the party manifesto and said he would give it to renowned writer Munno Bhai to analyse the achievements. He said he was proud to say that 80 percent of the party manifesto had been accomplished.
President Zardari said Pakistan had decided not to be part of any international war game. “We have decided not to join any ‘theatre of war’ which has nothing to do with us,” he said, and added that rather trade would be the top priority with international community.
He said that Pakistan would enter into trade pacts with other countries of its choice, and not on the behest of any other country. He said he introduced the concept of barter trade system due to the current financial recession across the world. He said Pakistan had signed agreements with Turkey and China in this regard for the mutual benefit of the countries.
About the ongoing financial crises in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the president asked the union leaders to consult some experts on the issues before raising hue and cry over them. President Zardari strongly dismissed the rumours about his medical fitness and said he was totally fit, though he suffered a problem as minor as a muscle strain.