Pakistan Muslim League-N on Saturday said that the Presidency would once again become hub of the political activities and power house of PPP if its Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari was elected president. Addressing a press conference here PML-N Secretary Information Ahsan Iqbal said that Asif Zardari is Co-chairman of PPP and his elevation as president would mean a partisan president and he would never do justice with other parties.
He said that President is symbol of the federation and a neutral and non-partisan personality be elected. He said people are asking if PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari occupies the slot, will he resign from the party, adding if it does not happen, the Presidency will become a power house of a specific party.
After 1971, whosoever was elected as the civilian president he had to resign from the basic membership of the political party. PML-N leader further said that PPP was insisting that judges could not be restored without a constitutional package but now the judges are being restored through a simple notification of the law ministry instead of the parliamentary resolution as agreed by the PPP through various agreements with PML-N.
Ahsan asked PPP, 'Under which constitutional amendment, the judges of Sindh and Punjab were restored?' "PML-N is still complying with Charter of Democracy (CoD) and does not want any confrontation in national politics", he maintained. He lamented that PPP has started character assassination campaign against the Presidential candidate of PML-N, former Justice Saeeduzaman Siddiqui, which he said was based on lies and unfounded allegations.
He was of the view that PPP had been inviting Saeeduzaman Siddiqui as chief guest on many occasions in its seminars, terming him an honest judicial figure but what happen now when PML-N nominated him for the presidential election. This is the contradictory attitude of PPP, who compromised on the fundamental principles.
Ahsan said Pakistan People's Party (PPP) should now sit on opposition benches in the Punjab as done by the PML-N in the National Assembly after breaking the coalition. He was of the view that the seniority of judges would be counted from the date of oath. He said that the sacked Chief Justice Ifikhar Chaudhry is the symbol of the supremacy constitution and due to the present judicial crisis, PML-N has fielded a non-partisan and non-controversial President.
Iqbal opined that due to the mudslinging against the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, PPP is itself facing criticism and more than 3000 articles have been published against it in the international press for what he said 'compromising on the basic principles'. Ahsan said that PML-N has left the government in centre on the basis of principles and PPP should also sit on the opposition benches in Punjab, as it has no moral ground to sit with PML-N in the government.
"If PPP has any compulsion to sit in the government in the Punjab it should formally ask PML-N and the later would consider it", he added. About the remarks of governor Punjab Salman Taseer, he said, "He looks more like a hero of Punjabi films and less like a governor of any province". About any alliance with PML-Q, he said, the Q-league is no more a party but a group of few members and they would join different parties.
When his attention was drawn towards the statements of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Sajjad Ali Shah about justice Saeeduzaman Siddiqui, he said that a full bench of the then supreme court had given a detail judgement against the former Chief Justice and party and his statement has no importance.