Pakistan's ex-president A Zardari criticize PM’s foreign policy

Pakistan’s former president on Tuesday lashed out at Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s foreign policy saying his government had failed to highlight the Indian intrusion into Pakistan.

Asif Ali Zardari said terrorism cannot be weeded out from the country without international assistance. The co-chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was talking to the press after a condolence visit to a local politician in Hub,a neighbouring town of Karachi in western Baluchistan province.

“Everyone knows that India is abetting terrorism in Pakistan through Afghanistan and the international forum should be apprised of Indian usage of Afghan soil,” Zardari said.

“Without taking the global powers on board, the menace of terrorism cannot be addressed,” he said. “But how can a government which has not appointed a foreign minister in its four-year tenure do such work?,” he said, referring the absence of a full-fledged foreign minister in the Sharif cabinet. Criticising the weakness of the government on foreign policy, the former president said “the lack of wisdom costs hugely to the nation and it takes centuries to compensate such blunders.”

“His [Sharif’s] intelligence has faded after he assumed power,” Zardari remarked. Responding to a question about the hosting of the finale of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) cricket tournament in Lahore, he instantly shrugged it off saying he had no interest in cricket. However, he added that Sharif might have intended to give impression that the Punjab province, the power base of the prime minister, was peaceful.

Pakistan has been organising the PSL matches in United Arab Emirates. In the tournament, dozens of international cricket players are members of five Pakistani teams — representing its major cities.

The hosting of the finale in Lahore is being seen as a return of international cricket to Pakistan. No foreign team has toured Pakistan, except for a one-off visit by Zimbabwe, after a terrorist attack on a visiting Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009. Regarding the extension of the military courts, Zardari said his party was along the other parliamentary parties. However, he said that the PPP had convened an all parties conference that would decide about the military courts. The Prime Minister Sharif government has been drawing strength of all the political parties to take decision on the military courts, which term had ended recently. The military courts were set up in January 2015, after the barbaric attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, to hold speedy trial and execution of the convicted terrorists.

http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/pakistan/pakistan-ex-president-criticises-pm-s-foreign-policy-1.1985995