Daily Times

Former president and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said on Friday that Prime Minister Imran Khan did not have the authority to proclaim another National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Talking to media in Islamabad on Friday, he said that there were no chances of entering into an alliance with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as Imran Khan didn’t come into power through political means, adding that he did not value democracy.

The PPP co-chairman said that the prime minister did have any sense of the problems being faced by the masses. “PM Imran doesn’t have the authority to give NRO to anyone. The reports regarding the arrest of Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah are just rumours,” he said. To a question, Asif Zardari said NAB treated him with respect and he also respected the bureau’s officials.

Earlier, an accountability court in Islamabad on Friday extended the physical remand of former president Asif Ali Zardari for 11 days in the money laundering case. Accountability Judge Arshad Malik announced the verdict on a request by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The bureau had demanded a 14-day extension in the former president’s remand. He directed the bureau to produce the accused on the next hearing on July 2. A NAB team presented Zardari before the court upon completion of his previous 11-day physical remand. NAB prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar requested the judge to hand over the custody of the accused to the bureau for 14 days for interrogation in connection with its investigation into the case. Advocate Sardar Latif Khosa, representing the PPP co-chairman, opposed the NAB plea.

At the previous hearing, the court had granted the NAB 11-day physical remand of the former president. The accountability judge ordered that Zardari be presented before the court again on June 21 (today). The PPP co-chairman was presented in the court a day after his arrest. NAB demanded 14-day physical remand of Zardari, which was opposed by his counsel Farooq H Naek. The bureau had also placed on record evidence saying that there were eight solid grounds for his arrest.