Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday extended a truce offer to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, saying his party was willing to support the government in the interest of the country.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Zardari said his party had begrudgingly accepted Nawaz Sharif’s government and had also begrudgingly accepted the PTI government.
“Come and sit with us. We should all sit together and prepare a long-term plan for the next 20 to 25 years to bring the country out of the present [economic] crisis,” the former president offered.
He said there were no free and fair elections anywhere in the world, “not even in the United States or the United Kingdom.” “Weaknesses exist in democracies [also],” he said, adding that it was time “we all sat together and stopped undermining one another.”
Zardari said the $3 billion aid was not enough to overcome the economic crisis facing the country. “It’s not a complete cure,” he said. He further said that dams are important and should be built but first, steps should be taken for conservation.
Welcoming Zardari’s truce offer, Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood said the former president’s mindset was what is needed to take the country forward. If the opposition takes one step forward, we will take two steps forward, the minister said.
Published in Daily Times, November 1st 2018.
