President Asif Ali Zardari said that the Pakistan Peo-ple's Party (PPP) fell victim to "national and international" institutions' conspiracies, which caused its defeat in the general elections. He was speaking to the party ticket-holders from Punjab at the Bilawal House. It may be noted that Yousuf Raza Gilani and Manzoor Wattoo besides other senior leaders called on the President at the Bilawal House in Lahore.
The president categorically stated that the PPP would play the role of opposition with full vigour. He said the PPP leadership was stuck in various issues before the polls and the party was not allowed to carry out election campaign freely. He said the son of Yousuf Raza Gilani was abducted while Raja Pervez Ashraf was forced to face corruption charges ahead of elections.
The President said the PPP could have won 40-45 seats in Punjab but the PPP was thrown back to the 1997 situation when the number of its seats "was drastically" reduced. He said he could not take part in election campaign due to restrictions placed on the office of president. However, he said, he would be fully active in politics by the end of current calendar year.