Rejecting rumours, PPP says ‘system’ cannot be run without Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) categorically rejected the rumours circulating regarding President Asif Ali Zardari’s removal and said this system (the government) could not be run without Zardari.

Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPP-P) Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said, “The government cannot function without the support of the PPP. President Asif Ali Zardari is the elected president of this country. Those who speculate have no understanding of the Constitution and law. This system cannot function without Asif Zardari.”

He said in a statement on Tuesday “there is no truth in the speculations circulating on social media against President Zardari.” He said President Zardari is the elected president of this country. Those who are speculating want to destabilise the country, he said.

The clarification comes amidst reports suggesting President Zardari’s removal from office and that another Constitutional amendment was in the offing.

The PPP-P secretary general further clarified, “the PPP is not joining the federal cabinet. The PPP supported the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in the Budget-2025-26; we ensured that the system and Parliament continue to function.”

The said rumours began circulating after the ruling PML-N obtained a simple majority in the National Assembly after the reinstatement of reserved seats by the Election Commission of Pakistan following the top court’s Constitutional Bench verdict.

After the allocation of the reserved seats, the ruling coalition, comprising PML-N, PPPP, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and other parties, surged above the two-thirds majority of 224 (235) in the 336-strong house.

He said, “After making minus to PPP, neither the government is established nor run in the National Assembly. The members of the Assemblies have right to remove a prime minister or any chief minister if they are not delivering under the Constitution. The members who are sitting in treasury and opposition benches have Constitutional procedure to remove them (PM or CM).”

The PPP-P leader said, “Removing a chief minister through a no-confidence motion does not destabilize the system. Removing someone unconstitutionally or through a protest strategy does destabilize the system. If a no-confidence motion had led to instability, the provision would not have existed in the Constitution.”

He said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) does not believe in negotiations and dialogues process. Let the PTI fulfill its passion for holding protest and running the movement against the government, he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025