Govt wants to deny provinces their constitutional rights: Zardari

KARACHI: Former president Asif Ali Zardari has expressed disappointment that the incumbent government wants to seize constitutional and financial authorities of provinces.

In a telephonic conversation with PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira, Asif Ali Zardari expressed doubts over the government policies.

Zardari asserted that during his tenure, his government ensured constitutional rights to all the provinces to make the federation strong. “The government is busy dealing hard with the opposition parties instead of devising strategies to curb coronavirus,” he added.

The former president stated that when he came to power in 2008, the country was a victim of terrorism and division. “We conducted the Swat operation through national consensus and brought peace throughout the country,” the former president asserted.

He further said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is following footsteps of an ex-president and military official Pervez Musharraf.

Moreover, Zardari’s case hearing was extended by the accountability court in the Park Lane case until 10th June.

The Park Lane reference has been registered against Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur under different sections of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, and the Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2010.

Zardari has been charged by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The bureau claimed that he has been allegedly running a fake front company by the name of Parathon as a shareholder in Park Lane properties.

However, Zardari was granted bail by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in December last year on medical grounds in the Park Lane and mega-money laundering corruption reference against surety bonds worth Rs10 million.