Daily Times

Sir: The decision by President Zardari to appoint Raja Pervez Ashraf as prime minister was just like adding salt to the injury of the masses who have been subjected to misery and unemployment by crippling power shortages. Why is the PPP bent upon mocking the people whose welfare it is supposed to safeguard? It is an insult to the memory of the PPP founding chairperson to appoint a PM of questionable integrity with mediocre capability to hold an office that was held by prime ministers Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. As it is, Yousaf Raza Gillani has done immense damage to the PPP and this decision to replace him with another shady character will damage this party immensely. As far as NAB is concerned, it likes to throw dust in our eyes and make us believe that the devil or his unknown disciples are responsible for fleecing hajjis, pilfering PSM, PIA, Railways, NICL, OGDC, PSO, PEPCO, Rental Power scam, the 70,000 missing containers and Ephedrine scam. The Rs six trillion debt piled up over 60 years has a lot to show like Tarbela, Mangla, KAMRA, motorway, Heavy Mechanical Complex, PSM, Nuclear deterrence, etc, while the Rs six trillion of additional debt in the post-2008 period seems to have evaporated into thin air.

With NAB headed by a man whose connections with Bahria Town are no secret, an attorney general who as prosecutor for NAB had played a vital role in obtaining a favourable bargain for former Admiral Mansoor ul Haq — allegedly, the most corrupt of all former senior naval officers — the culture of corruption is sure to thrive. However, what these men in power have failed to realise is that the wrath of this nation is simmering and the anger on the streets, a trailer of which was witnessed in Punjab, once unleashed with full force, will consume all the forces of mis-governance. Political parties like the ANP, MQM, PML-Q and JUI-F have been exposed as opportunist parties, willing to making a deal with the devil, if the price is right.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore