Daily Times

Punjab Assembly Speaker and PML-Q Punjab President Chaudhry Pervez Elahi called on former president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari at the latter’s residence in Lahore on Tuesday.

According to statements issued by the two parties, both leaders agreed that independent judiciary and democracy are inseparable while discussing in detail the overall political situation in the country, especially in Punjab. Zardari and Elahi also agreed that the respect for judiciary was one of the key components of democracy.

Both Elahi and Zardari were all praise for Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for doing ‘good opposition’ against the ruling party. Sources said that Elahi told the former president that he had seen the young PPP chairperson’s speeches multiple times and observed that he spoke ‘maturely’. The two leaders also discussed the incumbent government. “You were our ally [during our tenure] and are also an ally of this government […] you must have seen the difference,” Zardari was quoted as saying by the sources. The former president told the PML-Q leader that Imran Khan and his ministers are “making a mistake by thinking that they can intimidate the Sindh government with threats”, sources said. The PPP leader also told the provincial assembly speaker that his party will surprise everyone in the next general elections. He claimed that some important people from South Punjab would join the party soon.

On the other hand, sources said that Elahi conveyed to Zardari that his party would remain an ally of the PTI till the general elections. “Despite being an ally, we have at multiple times opposed government policies,” Elahi told Zardari, according to sources

Zardari asked Elahi about the health of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in the meeting. He told Elahi that his son had informed him about Ch Shujaat’s health. Elahi thanked Zardari for his support during Senate elections. “I wanted to go to Karachi to meet Zardari Sahib, but he said that he would meet me when he arrives at his Lahore residence,” he was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his party. “Chaudhry Pervez Elahi also inquired about the well-being of Asif Ali Zardari. The two leaders held detailed discussion on the current political situation in the country and other issues of mutual interest,” the statement further read.