ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairperson and former president, Asif Ali Zardari, on Monday said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reverted to revenge politics of the 1990s, referring to the recent arrests of high-profile PPP members.He said first Qasim Zia and Senator Bangash’s son were arrested, which was followed by Dr Asim’s arrest by Rangers. Immediately afterwards, warrants for the arrests of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani and Makhdoom Amin Fahim were also issued, he said.In a statement from London, Zardari said bureaucrats in Sindh were being harassed by the Federal Investigation Agency and the National Accountability Bureau – pointing out that the chief secretary of Sindh is also currently on bail.

He said actions being taken by federal agencies in Sindh were clear violations of the Constitution.

“If they want to conduct fair accountability, they should first take action against a federal minister who confessed before a magistrate his involvement in money laundering for the Sharif-brothers. Only then we will know how clean followers of N-league are.”

Zardari said a video had surfaced in Punjab, showing provincial minister Rana Mushhood receiving money on behalf of the Sharif brothers but no action had been taken against him.

“All this unmistakably presents a clear pattern of political harassment and revenge,” he said, adding that Sindh had been immobilised under direct orders from the Prime Minister House.

The PPP co-chair said it appeared Nawaz Sharif had not learnt lessons from the past, adding that the politics of revenge should immediately be halted or it will produce disastrous consequences.

“We are not the ones who fled to Jeddah after seeking pardon. The nation very well knows that Nawaz Sharif holds the ‘honor’ of applying for pardon.”

We accepted the results of the 2013 general elections for the sake of democracy, although those elections were “ROs’ elections,” said Zardari, adding that the recent verdicts from election tribunals “proved our point that the PML-N received outside help and was made to win the elections.”

The former president said at a time when “our innocent citizens are being killed by indiscriminate shelling in border villages by the enemy, when Pakistani Army is fighting a decisive war against terrorists… Nawaz Sharif, instead of challenging the real enemy, is targeting Peoples Party and other political opponents.”

Zardari said steps being taken by the government clearly indicate that it is dividing the nation in an attempt to save its natural allies – Taliban and terrorists – and weaken the war against terror.