Asif Zardari leaves for Dubai after Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: Following unexplained departure of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Dubai, his father Asif Ali Zardari also left Islamabad for the UAE on Friday amid reports of a rift within the family, ARY News reported on Friday.

Sources told ARY News that the former president’s departure to Dubai was ‘unplanned’ as he would meet his family members during the visit.

The development came after Bilawal Bhutto Zardari suddenly left for Dubai without informing party leaders – a claimed Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) denied.

PPP Central Secretary Information Faisal Karim Kundi said the party chairman Bilawal Bhutto’s visit to Dubai was pre-planned.

He also denied rumours regarding differences between Chairman PPP & President Asif Ali Zardari and termed them “baseless”.

The rumours of rift were doing rounds after former President Asif Ali Zardari said that his son and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was “not fully trained” in politics and would “take time” getting up to speed.

During an interview, Asif Zardari was asked about Bilawal, who in recent days has repeatedly called on the nation to let older politicians “stay at home” and to give someone new a chance in the general elections.

“And then Bilawal is also not fully trained. [We] are training him,” he said.

“He’ll take time,” the PPP leader said. At the same time, Zardari said Bilawal was more talented, educated and better spoken than him but “experience is experience”.

Asif Zardari asserted that the government of former prime minister Imran Khan wanted “minus Zardari People Party” and send me out of the country.