Asif Zardari will be PPP’s candidate for Pakistan President

Islamabad, Feb 13:  Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced on Tuesday that the party's Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari will be the PPP candidate for the President's slot, a media report said.

Addressing a press conference following the two-day central executive committee meeting of the party, the PPP Chairman said he would like to see his father Asif Ali Zardari become the President of Pakistan, ARY News reported.

“I am not saying this because he is my father. I am saying this because the country is in a huge crisis at the moment and if anyone can douse this fire, it is Asif Ali Zardari,” Bilawal Bhutto said.

The former Foreign Minister said the constitutional positions are PPP’s right and the party will field candidates for President, Senate Chairman and National Assembly (NA) Speaker.

Bilawal Bhutto also ruled out the possibility of becoming part of any coalition government, saying his party would vote for the prime ministerial candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), but sit in the opposition, ARY News reported.

“The PPP has decided that we are unable or not in a position to join the federal government ourselves, nor are we interested in taking ministries in such a setup,” he said.

Bilawal Bhutto also acknowledged that the reality is that his party does not have a mandate to form a government at the Centre.

“Due to this, I will not put myself forward for the candidacy of the Prime Minister of Pakistan,” he said, noting that the PML-N and the Independents have greater numbers, ARY News reported.

“We don’t want to see chaos in the country or perpetual crisis in the country,” the PPP Chairman said, adding that his party has decided to support the PML-N’s candidate for the premiership to ensure political instability in Pakistan.

A day earlier, it was reported that the senior PPP leadership has advised Bilawal Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari against forming a coalition government with the PML-N.

The majority of the committee members proposed to sit in the opposition, rather than forming a coalition government. Ostensibly, a strong coalition government will not be formed, the participants suggested, ARY News reported.