Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to file a disqualification reference against Pakistan People’s Party co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari in the Election Commission of Pakistan for concealing his assets.

While talking to reporters, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Wednesday that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had directed its Sindh lawmaker Khurram Sher Zaman to file a reference against Zardari for not mentioning his foreign assets in the nomination papers.

Fawad said that reports had surfaced in the media that Zardari owned an apartment in New York, which he had not declared in his assets list submitted with the Election Commission of Pakistan. “As per articles 62 and 63, he should be disqualified as MNA for concealing his assets,” he added.

The minister said that he had been saying time and again that both Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari had already contested their last elections and their days in politics were numbered. The government faced no political challenge from the opposition parties, he added.

He said that all the cases and references against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP leadership were filed before PTI came to power. They were now falling like proverbial house of cards as the PTI government had only made the institutions independent, he added.

He said that the PTI government was fulfilling its pledge of introducing a corruption-free system of governance in the country.

The minister said that positive trends were coming in the national politics as the vision of prime minister regarding looters of national wealth was crystal clear. He said that the previous PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained corruption and scandal free.

He said that environment for foreign investment was changing in Pakistan as clouds of darkness on its economy were clearing and the foreign investors’ confidence had restored.

He cited the British Airways announcement to resume its operations in Pakistan, and added that Portugal and France had revised their travel advisories for their citizens.

He said that Saudi Arabia was coming with record investment in Pakistan’s history. He said that Pakistan had great concern over Indian atrocities in Indian-held Kashmir, which should be stopped immediately.

To a question about property of Federal Minister Faisal Wada in London, he said that he had already declared it with the ECP.

Published in Daily Times, December 20^th2018.