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Pakistan president heckled at UK political rally

10 August 2010 00:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari wrapped up his trip to Britain by addressing a political rally Saturday, facing criticism and protesters for touring overseas as floods killed more than 1,500 people in his country, APA reports quoting trivalleycentral.com web-page.

One heckler threw a shoe at Zardari during the event, missing the president, while outside the convention center police cordoned off more than 100 protesters.
Zardari told supporters his trip to Britain had been a success, and that he had raised tens of thousands of pounds for flood victims at home. Some 2,000 people crowded into the Birmingham convention center to listen to the visiting leader and other speakers from his Pakistan Peopleâ€™s Party.

Facing domestic criticism for his trip during a time that his nation battles deadly floods, the Pakistani presidentâ€™s U.K. trip had also been fraught because it came so soon after British Prime Minister David Cameron accused Pakistan of exporting terrorism. The remarks outraged many Pakistanis and caused a diplomatic row, in part because they were made during Cameronâ€™s visit to India, Pakistanâ€™s nuclear rival.

â€œWe have a good relationship with the British government and the problem has been resolved with the help of British Pakistani MPs (lawmakers,)â€ he said Saturday at the rally where posters of his slain wife, Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, covered the walls. He was flanked by his daughter, Asifa.

Some protesters raised placards that read â€œU.S.A. out of Pakistan and Afghanistan.â€ Many Pakistanis are angry about U.S.-led forces within Pakistan and increasing military operations in the frontier and tribal border areas.

â€œToo many Pakistani civilians have lost their lives because of this foreign-led war,â€ said a protester who identified himself as Iqbal Najid, 32.

Earlier in the day Zardariâ€™s son and co-chairman of the PPP, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, appealed for donations to help Pakistani flood victims in London.

Many had expected Zardariâ€™s son to join him at the rally and use the occasion to launch his political career, but the 21-year-old angrily rejected such speculation. Instead, he only appeared before the media briefly at Pakistanâ€™s High Commission in London, where he accepted donations for flood victims and defended his fatherâ€™s trip abroad during the disaster.

â€œMy fatherâ€™s doing all that he can to aid the people of Pakistan. His personal presence in Pakistan could not have done there what he did here,â€ Bhutto Zardari said.

Pakistani officials estimate that as many as 13 million people have been affected in the floods and some 1,500 have died. More rain is expected in the coming days as the bloated Kabul River surged into Pakistanâ€™s northwest.

Although his father said Friday it was only a matter of time before his son carried on the familyâ€™s political dynasty, Bhutto Zardari became irritated at suggestions that he was using his fatherâ€™s visit for his political gain and said he never intended to join the rally.

â€œI will not launch my political career until I complete my education â€” as I promised my mother,â€ he said. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at a political rally in late 2007. Her father, the founder of PPP, was hanged in 1979.

Bhutto Zardari said he would focus on raising money for flood victims in Britain and had no plans to travel to Pakistan soon. Still, many party supporters at the rally Saturday were more interested in talking about the young Oxford graduate than about his father.

â€œWe want Bilawal to pick up where his mother left off,â€ said Samina Mohammed, 25. â€œHe can give us the best hope for this country.â€

Plagued by allegations of corruption and money laundering, Zardari hasnâ€™t enjoyed the same support as his slain wife or other members of the Bhutto clan.