Imran trains guns on Zardari, Bilawal

Islamabad, Apr 9: The sudden visit of President Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal to India has invited ire from their political opponents in Pakistan with cricketer-turned- politician Imran Khan questioning the timing of the tour, when the country was faced with a tragedy of the 135 soldiers missing in avalanche in Siachen glacier.

Hoping to ride to political power in Pakistan on the gathering anti-establishment fervour, Imran Khan trained his guns particularly on ruling PPP's emerging leader Bilawal Bhutto, alleging that the 23-year-old leader had no pulse of the people of the country. Taking a dig at Bilawal, who is considered a rising political star of the Bhutto family, Imran said, people "will not forgive leaders who have no respect for the nation and its institutions".

He charged that Zardari and his son did not know "how to stand by state". "Bilawal has no knowledge of the difficulties faced by the people of Pakistan and cannot even speak proper Urdu."

In an apparent attack on the family roots of such leaders Khan said, his party would elect its leadership from ordinary citizens instead of rewarding people simply because they were members of families that had enjoyed power for long. In this regard, he named the Bhutto family that has led the PPP and the Sharifs, who lead the main opposition PML-N.

Some media commentators questioned Zardari's decision to go ahead with his private visit to India a day after an avalanche hit a battalion headquarters of the Pakistan Army in the Siachen sector. Rescue teams have so far found no signs of survivors.

The 135 people were buried under up to 80 feet of snow when the avalanche slammed into the camp at Gyari. Imran Khan claimed his party would follow the Turkish model of development if it comes to power.

PTI