Sharif and Zardari to virtually address multiparty conference
Sharif will make the speech from London ater staying away from public meetings and political activity for more than a year; Zardari is currently in Karachi and facing serious health problems
Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari will virtually address the opposition’s multiparty conference (MPC) scheduled to be held on Sunday.
Sharif will make the speech from London ater staying away from public meetings and political activity for more than a year. Zardari is in Karachi and is facing serious health problems. Arrangements have been made to show Sharif’s speech on social media.
Soon ater Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal tweeted that he telephoned Sharif in London to invite him to atend the MPC online, political sources said the former prime minister would atend the conference.
Senator Musadik Malik confirmed Sharif’s participation and said that the former premier would atend virtually and also address the MPC. “Maryam Nawaz will also atend the MPC.”
While other party representatives, including Shahbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, have shared their views on ongoing cases and the political situation from time to time, Sharif has stayed away from publicly commenting or engaging with the media for the last two years. In London, where he has been since November 2019, Sharif has maintained a low public profile and refrained from responding to journalists’ questions about various political developments. Although he has met visiting party representatives and other politicians and diplomats over the year, he has not made any comments directly.
The announcement that he will atend the MPC has sparked speculation that Sharif may now break his silence and play a more public political role. Some have tied his upcoming MPC participation to the possibility of his return to Pakistan. However, the Sharif family did not make a comment on these rumours.
Bilawal had invited Sharif to atend the MPC to be held in Islamabad through video link.
He announced that he had made a telephone call to Sharif, who is in London for medical treatment, to inquire about his health and invited him to the conference to be hosted by the PPP.
Separately, it was reported that Prime Minister Imran Khan has decided to reduce the perks and privileges of the president and premier by amending the rules through a bill. While showing his commitment for cuting down the expenditures of the national exchequer, Imran decided to reduce perks and privileges of the president and prime minister.
He contacted his adviser on parliamentary affairs, Dr Babar Awan and instructed him to pass a law from the parliament to allow reducing the perks of the prime minister. He directed him to formulate legislation for ending VIP expenditures on public funds.
Following the directives of the premier, Awan expedited work on the legislation. He told Imran that the bill related to the cut in perks and privileges of the state heads will be tabled in the parliament soon that will fulfil the promise of austerity measures by the Pakistan Tehrik-eInsaf (PTI) led federal government.
Awan added that the new law will also abolish the discretionary powers of the president and the prime minister of holding camp offices in different cities. President and prime minister would be allowed to possess only one government residency under the new law, he added.
The PM’S adviser said that millions of funds had been spent on security, employees, food, internet, telephone services from the national treasury ater the previous state heads declared many residencies as their camp offices.
Awan also presented the previous records of past presidents and prime ministers of Pakistan which revealed the huge spending of public money for their luxurious lifestyle.
According to the government records, one of the former presidents had declared residence of his close relative as President House besides holding camp offices in Lahore and ancestral places. A former president belonging to rural Sindh had declared two President Houses in Larkana Rest House and “Bhuto House” in Ratodero.
The records also exposed huge spending on “five locations” declared as Prime Minister Houses by a former premier belonging to South Punjab. A former chief minister had established seven camp houses in Lahore, whereas, an ex-premier had spent Rs830 million only to construct a wall of his residence.