The Pakistan Peoples Party's central vice chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani has dispelled the impression that PPP had reached an agreement or deal with the government and said that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave us a lesson of "No-deal" and he preferred to lay down his life but refused to yield before the dictator.
Talking to newsmen after returning from Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, Gilani categorically stated that in case, a false impression is deliberately being given by certain ministers, to build up the view that the party has compromised on political principles, and that is absolutely not true and the projection of a deliberate falsehood through the media.
Gilani stressed that not a single case against the party leadership has been withdrawn by the government of Pakistan, which is the initiating party in all such cases, so no justified relief at all has been given in any cases. No hearings either at home or abroad have been cancelled, and NAB continues its million-dollar persecution of the democratically elected representatives.
He reacted strongly to the statements by two ministers alleging that the PPP leaders were feeling relief by the closure of the Special Office of Prosecutions headed by Hasan Wasim Afzal of NAB. He said that shutting down a brick-and-mortar department of NAB, which what they said was 'swallowing up millions of taxpayer's rupees in inconclusive witch-hunts', meant nothing at all.
In fact, he said, that on the contrary it shows that this office has not been able to achieve any results, as the regime has realised it is better to close it down than to pursue false and fabricated cases that have yielded nothing in ten years, PPP leader observed.
They said the cases have been filed as part of a political vendetta and that even if they are withdrawn, then it is no concession or favour to the party leadership as ultimately, all the cases would stand to have been dismissed for lack of evidence for seven years, the party has heard talk of a deal floated in the media, whereas the reality is that the leadership remains in political exile, facing hardships and over ten false cases which have still not yielded any result or conviction, he added.
He demanded that instead of one cell, all of NAB offices should be shut down, as it was a 'massive drain on public finances' and that it was on record for being used to blackmail and victimise political opponents. "NAB has failed to wipe out corruption in society, instead it has presided over an escalation in corruption in government circles, which goes to show that it has miserably failed for the very purposes it was created, he opined.
He added that in fact, the shifting of an officer like Wasim Afzal to Punjab mean that the regime is getting ready to use his manipulative skills in rigging the next general election, as they fear the return of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto as prime minister of Pakistan through the democratic process.