Zardari urges political forces to engage in dialogue for elections at earliest

• Polls should be held at same time across country, says Zardari.
• Imran Khan had devised a plan to stay in power till 2035, he says.
• The former president says PPP is not afraid of election.

Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Friday urged all the political parties to sit together and decide on a date for the next general elections in the country.

Speaking on Geo News' programme "Capital Talk", Zardari said that the general elections should be held at the same time across the country, as the federal government and Supreme Court are in a virtual standoff over holding the polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“The problem is not that we are afraid of elections,” he said, adding that his party did not have an objection to the poll but its “timing”. The PPP leader maintained that his party had joined the National Assembly with just 14 seats in the past.

Stressing the need for talks between all the political forces, the former president said: “Our words carry weight when we talk to our allies.”

‘Plan for staying in power till 2035’

Referring to alleged favouritism shown to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan by the judiciary and the establishment, Zardari said: “There is a domicile difference between Imran Khan and me.”

Slamming Khan, the PPP leader said that the political workers stage protests but they do not pick up weapons. He claimed that Khan was not a popular leader, saying that he paid the people.

Responding to a question about former chief of army staff General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, the PPP leader revealed that he and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman had asked Bajwa not to seek resignation from Khan. 

He maintained that they decided to topple the PTI-led government as the deposed prime minister had devised a plan to stay in power till 2035 by "picking an army chief of his choice".