Present rulers not familiar with political norms: Asif Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Former President and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari termed present rulers the ‘political dwarves’, saying that they were not familiar with the norms of politics.

Addressing the All Parties Conference in Islamabad through video link, the former president thanked the attendees and noted that the APC should have called earlier and added that there was no need to be frightened.

Referring to media censorship, he said, “We have never seen such stringent censorship across the country. This reflects on the weakness of the government. It is impossible to curtail the emerging voices of the media.”

The PPP co-chairman lauded PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s resolve and commitment, saying that he was “fully aware of the hardships you’ve been through and respect that”.

“My solidarity is with Maryam Nawaz Sharif; she’s like my daughters, she has suffered a lot in her struggle, and we stand by her,” Asif Zardari stated.

Referring to Prime Minister Imran Khan, he said that the thinking pattern of the selected prime minister is that of a major. “Since the very beginning, we’ve been speaking against the fake mandate. Bilawal Bhutto is probably the first leader to raise concerns that the government is selected,” he added.

He further said, “The first necessity to run a democratic state is democracy. We tried to save democracy in the country. Our party has raised voice for Balochistan and has been speaking for Punjab, especially South Punjab.”

“My message to the people of Pakistan is that we have not united together to save democracy in the country and with the press, we will win through this,” he concluded.