The government is making everything for three times its actual cost, he claimed. He also said that the elections will be held in the next eight to nine months. "We want neutral and transparent elections," he remarked, adding "we will win the next elections".
Zardari said the rulers want to capture the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for their own good, adding that the condition of Pakistan would only improve if condition of the poor improved. He showed signs of going to court if the upcoming elections were not kept free and fair. While addressing the problems faced by people associated with agriculture, he said the agricultural labourers and landlords were finding it difficult to even get gunny sacks.
The former President of Pakistan urged good relations with neighbouring countries. He said that the present government was buying four times expensive gas and not ready to acquire the cheap energy resource from the neighbouring country. Shedding light on stumbling foreign affairs, he criticised the government saying it was unable to control issues on the three borders, claiming that there were lesser problems in Kashmir during his time.
Zardari was welcomed in Peshawar by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) workers with loud slogans as he appeared to address a press conference which was held in Humayun Khan's residence. While complaining about the federal government and their priorities regarding infrastructural development, he said that PML-N was reconstructing roads by spending Rs 20 million. He suggested that the same money could be used for the prosperity of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
He told the initial visit to Peshawar was merely of three days which had to extend upon arrival. Zardari is on a five-day visit to Peshawar during which he will meet provincial members of the party, members of the parliament, district heads and address the FATA grand jirga, informed PPP KP president Muhammad Humayun Khan.
Khan further said that PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is also likely to visit. Meanwhile, Zardari also visited the house of late Haji Adeel, who belonged to Awami National Party, for condolence. Speaking to the media, Zardari said that 'Haji Adeel was a great politician," adding "I will try my best to walk in his footsteps." Haji Adeel had made a lot of sacrifices for Pakistan, adding that he never strayed from the path of democracy.
During the media talk, one of the journalists asked him a question pertaining to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's chairperson Imran Khan's bribery allegations. Zardari shunned the reporter by saying that he has come to meet the family of Haji Adeel for condolence and people are asking him about corruption.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017