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Islamabad: Presidential candidate Asif Ali Zardari is to quit his position as Co-Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) after he is elected President of Pakistan, said Sherry Rehman, Federal Information Minister of the country.
"Though the final decision will be taken in the Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting of the PPP, Zardari is likely to quit his party position as it will be required by his office," Rehman told Gulf News in an exclusive interview at her office here. The party will announce the new co-chairman soon after the CEC meeting.
A president in Pakistan is considered a symbol and is not allowed to hold a political position in any party. The presidential polls are scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 6.
Rehman refuted allegations about Zardari's mental health and the corruption charges. "He has been in robust health for years except a cardiac episode in 2005. It is, in fact, slanderous to suggest that his mental health is not well enough to be the president of Pakistan," she said.
Following are excerpts from the interview:
Why has PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari fielded himself for the presidential polls as there is a general perception that people do not want to see him as president?
Shery Rehman Let me correct here, Zardari did not field himself for the top slot. He is a consensus candidate of the party and all the main leaders put forward his name. He has a strong backing from all the ruling coalition partners.
There is no such thing that people do not want to see Zardari as President. Independent polls, conducted by a private television channel, have indicated that he is a favourite candidate and far ahead in the race for the presidency.
What about allegations raising questions about his mental health?
Question raised about his mental health is a non-issue and is part of a mud-slinging campaign against him. He is perfectly fine to hold the top position in the country.
Are you planning to sue the newspaper which carried stories about Zardari's mental health?
No, we have never been in the business of suing newspapers. We have not even gone with politics of revenge with Pervez Musharraf. Allegations against Zardari are part of media campaign against him.
Will the PPP government continue to maintain contact with Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League even after he quits the ruling coalition?
We always maintained that we would like to have seamless working relationship with the Nawaz League. We have come a long way and we really like to have a coalition.
Background: Journalist and minister
Sherry Rehman is currently serving as Federal Information Minister in Pakistan. She is also a politician, journalist and parliamentarian. She has studied art history and politics at Smith College, USA, and the University of Sussex, UK.
Rehman has been a journalist for twenty years. She served as the Editor of Pakistan's newsmagazine Herald for ten years. She was recognised with an award for independent journalism by the UK House of Lords in its Muslim World Awards Ceremony in 2002.
This is her second stint as Member of the National Assembly. She is also Central Information Secretary as well as President of Policy Planning for the Pakistan Peoples Party.
Her interests in the National Assembly include foreign and security policy, women's status and rights legislation, and media policies. Most recently, Rehman led the party's delegation to Washington to call for a UN investigation into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
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