Lahore: Differences between Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Yousuf Raza Gilani have come to the fore, with an "unhappy" former premier speaking out for the first time against PPP-led government for its inability to avert his son's arrest and for "unceremoniously" changing bureaucrats appointed by him.
Gilani was convicted of contempt and disqualified as a lawmaker by the Supreme Court in June after he refused to act on orders to revive graft cases against Zardari in Switzerland. He was replaced by Raja Pervez Ashraf as Premier.
"I am not happy with the government (led by Ashraf) for its inability to avert the arrest of my son, Ali Musa, in the premises of the Supreme Court and for changing my team of bureaucrats," Gilani said.
After living in the presidency since his ouster from the post of Premier, Gilani recently decided to return to his hometown of Multan in Punjab province.
"There is no point in my staying at the presidency if my party's government fails to stop the arrest of my son in the 'red zone' of Islamabad... Why only my son?" the former premier told a small group of journalists on Saturday night.
Ali Musa was recently arrested by the army-run Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) within the Supreme Court complex when he went to seek bail in connection with a case. He was subsequently granted bail by the court.
The ANF has named him as an accused over alleged irregularities in the import of the controlled drug ephedrine.
Gilani said he had not expected that the team of bureaucrats appointed by him would be removed from their posts in "such an unceremonious" way. "They were not even offered a cup of tea. Had this action been taken by a PML-N government, the treatment would have made sense."
Gilani said he had left the presidency without informing Zardari.
The government led by Ashraf appeared helpless in preventing the arrest of his son and this was the primary reason for his decision to leave the presidency, he added.
Comments
0 comment