Daily Times

SLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari’s statement on extension of army chief’s service became a riddle on Wednesday after the controversial press release surfaced and then disappeared.

According to the media reports, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has decided to hold an inquiry into the statement. PPP Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira said that an inquiry into the origin of Zardari’s controversial statement would be conducted. Opposition leader Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah and Kaira visited the National Press Club in Islamabad on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion, Kaira said that both Zardari and the PPP had a unanimous stand on the army; they were with the army. He said that General Raheel Sahrif, chief of the army staff, had earned Pakistan and the army a good name and everyone praised his decision to retire on time.

Kaira said the PPP alone was being held accountable for the problems. He said the PPP highlighted the issue of Rangers’ excessive powers in Karachi and this caused a furore. He said that everyone, including the chief minister, started speaking out in Punjab when they got a go-ahead.

PPP Senator Saeed Ghani said on a TV programme that someone from the party talked to Zardari and issued the statement without consulting him. He said there were many points in the press release that Zardari had not originally said. Talking to the media at the National Press Club in Islamabad, PPP leader Dr Nafisa Shah said the former president issued no statement yesterday. She described the statement as mismanagement at certain level within the party. “The PPP backs military offensives,” she said, adding that the operation in Swat was launched during PPP’s government. “However, Zardari cannot issue such a statement about extension of the service of the army chief.”

She said the party was trying to figure out as to what level this mismanagement took place. In a related development, a PPP lawmaker on Wednesday submitted a resolution in the Punjab Assembly, seeking extension of the service of Army Chief Raheel Sharif. PPP lawmaker Khurram Wattoo came up with the resolution.

On Tuesday, a statement quoted Zardari as describing army chief’s decision to retire on time as “premature’. “As the country is passing through a sensitive phase, the PPP considers Gen Sharif’s decision as premature,” the statement cited Zardari saying. “The decision can turn people’s hopes into disappointment. It may also give a negative impression,” says the statement. Zardari reportedly said that it was not appropriate to propagate military’s role in political affairs, accountability and other matters. He was also quoted as advising the media not to speculate about army’s role in the political affairs.