Former president Asif Ali Zardari has warned that the situation will worsen if rulers do not get a better grasp of the coronavirus challenges.

The country will be in a worse position than it is currently if the rulers don’t build a national consensus,” he said during a telephonic talk with PPP leader Qamar Zaman Qaira on Wednesday.

The duo deliberated upon the ongoing war on coronavirus, national politics and party affairs.

Prime Minister Imran Khan is following in the footsteps of Gen Pervez Musharaf, the former president said, adding that the government wanted to curtail constitutional and financial powers of the provinces.

He listed the PPP’s feats recalling its rule after the 2008 general election.

“The country was in the grip of terrorism and a sense of deprivation was prevailing among the provinces when we were elected to power. We built a national consensus, launched the anti-terror operation and restore peace,” he said citing the Swat operation.

The former president said the PPP overcame food scarcity and made the country self-sufficient in the field while it promoted national harmony and provincial autonomy.

The Centre gained its strength and the provinces were provided with constitutional powers and due financial rights in the PPP rule, he said mentioning the 18th Amendment, Balochistan package, renaming NWFP as KP and giving provincial status to GB.

Unfortunately, Zardari said the present rulers are dragging the country back to the Musharaf era.

He urged his party workers to gear up relief campaign while adopting preventive measures to fend off coronavirus.