Zardari's justification???

 What was wrong for Musharraf in the past has become right for Zardari today as the Pakistan People’s Party is giving all the justifications and reasons to protect Asif Ali Zardari’s Presidency as well as his co-chairmanship of the party. In the past PPP was deadly opposed to Musharraf leading the PML-Q as head of the state.

On various occasions former president General Musharraf was criticised by different leaders of the PPP for his support for the PML-Q – the then king’s party. Musharraf’s address to the public rallies from PML-Q platform was also criticised by the PPP which was then led by Benazir Bhutto who in 1995-96 had made her deputy in the party Sardar Farooq Khan Leghari to resign from the party membership before taking over as the President of Pakistan. The senior Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also did the same with Chaudhry Fazal Elahi, who too had to resign from the party membership to become the president of Pakistan.
Today though the PPP under President Asif Ali Zardari is adamant that there is nothing wrong for the president to be the co-chairperson of PPP, this was not the case during Musharraf’s rule. Musharraf was officially not holding any office of the PML-Q but he used to hold party meetings besides addressing Q’s public gatherings, which was generally considered as against the spirit of the constitution.
Musharraf’s conduct was criticised by the PPP not only in the party’s public statements but also formally before the Election Commission of Pakistan. Some of the examples are given below:
On January 26, 2007 an English daily in its story “PPP’s 36 points for free, fair polls” said that on January 25 a 36-point document was presented to the Chief Election Commissioner Justice (Retd) Qazi Mohammad Farooq by a delegation of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians to ensure fair and free elections in the country. The delegation included the PPP secretary-general Raja Pervez Ashraf, Senator Sardar Latif Khosa, its president for Punjab Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Sindh president Syed Qaim Ali Shah, the NWFP president Rahim Dad Khan and information secretary Sherry Rehman.
The newspaper report said: “During the briefing, Senator Latif Khosa said that the CEC had the power to stop Gen Musharraf from attending public meetings and campaigning for the Pakistan Muslim League-Q.”
The same newspaper published a story on May 18, 2005, which was on the issue of the party’s decision for token participation in the mixed marathon at Lahore. It was Punjab PPP Information Secretary Naveed Chaudhry, who told the media on May 17: The PPP condemns Gen Musharraf’s decision to preside over a meeting of the ruling party.”
The same newspaper ran a story titled ‘PPP criticises Musharraf for attending PML convention’ on March 25, 2006. The report said: “People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) Senator Enver Baig on Friday lashed out at Gen Pervez Musharraf for attending and speaking at the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) convention in Lahore on Pakistan Day and condemned the ruling party for passing a resolution asking him to remain in the presidency wearing uniform.”
He added: “On the one hand, Gen Musharraf claimed that he wanted to hold free and fair elections in the country and, on the other, he had become a party by attending the convention (of the PML-Q).”
On March 27, 2006 another English daily ran a story: ‘PPPP demand appointment of independent CEC’ in which the then party MNA and presently speaker National Assembly Dr Fahmida Mirza, who is the wife of home minister Sindh Dr Zulfikar Mirza, was quoted as saying: “Dr Mirza criticised President Musharraf for addressing the PML convention in Lahore on March 23, saying that the address also increased and proved the apprehensions of democratic forces about the holding of free and fair elections.”
On Feb 4, 2007 the same newspaper in its story ‘PPP warns of ‘orange revolution’ if polls rigged’ quoting Raza Rabbani said: “He (Rabbani) said bifurcation of districts, delimitation of constituencies and General Musharraf’s addressing the public rallies is part of pre-poll rigging.”
Another English daily on February 5, 2007 in a editorial comment titled ‘Whither PPP’s ‘orange revolution?’ said: “The Pakistan People’s Party alleges that General Pervez Musharraf has begun to rig the coming elections by campaigning for the ruling Pakistan Muslim league.”
On February 26, 2007, yet another English daily report ‘PPP blames wrong foreign policy for suicide blasts’, while quoting the then chairman of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and chief of People’s Party Parliamentarians, Makhdoom Amin Faheem, said: “On the one hand President Gen Pervez Musharraf was talking about fair elections and on the other he had come out in the open to canvass for the Pakistan Muslim League.”
As compared to Musharraf, President Zardari’s case is far more complicated for the reason that the latter despite being head of the state is a declared co-chairperson of the PPP. Musharraf though he used to act as head of the PML-Q, formally he did not hold any office of the party.