After anti-army remark, Zardari invites all for Iftar

Islamabad, June 18: Former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari has invited all political parties for an Iftar and dinner at Zardari House here on Friday, following remarks against the country's military leadership, a source close to the party leadership said.

According to the source, the Iftar and dinner would be an all-party conference of sorts, but an invitation to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is still being deliberated upon, the Dawn reported.

A day after Zardari's aggressive speech against the military leadership, Sharif on Wednesday stepped in to defend the armed forces.

Addressing party workers in Peshawar on Tuesday, Zardari warned against character assassination of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), saying if they started doing this, no one would be spared, including army generals. "The army is our institution," he added.

However, he did not specify what kind of character assassination he was referring to and by whom.

A statement from the Prime Minister House quoted Sharif as saying that criticism of the armed forces encouraged destabilising factors in the country, and added that under the circumstances, criticising the armed forces was not an appropriate step.

Zardari's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar confirmed that Zardari would be hosting the event at his Islamabad residence.

The PPP has come in the spotlight after Zardari's hard-hitting speech on Tuesday, where he lashed out at the military establishment for overstepping its domain.

On Wednesday, two former Pakistani prime ministers Raja Pervez Ashraf and Yousuf Raza Gilani, belonging to Zardari's PPP, voluntarily resigned from their positions in the party.

IANS