ISLAMABAD: The much-hyped 11-party Opposition All Parties Conference (APC) hosted by Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is underway in federal capital.

Former President Asif Ali Zardari, in his welcome address said that they will sent government packing to restore democracy and save the country. Foundation of a country is laid on democracy, after which prosperity follows, he added.

Asif Zardari also thanked PML-N supremo for accepting PPP’s invitation and said that Benazir Bhutto signed charter of democracy with Nawaz Sharif and both parties cooperated to remove Musharraf from office and pass 18th amendment.

He further said that 18th amendment is a wall around the constitution and because of this amendment, no one can look at the constitution with evil intensions. "We have never seen such stringent censorship across the country," Zardari stated. "This reflects on the weakness of the government. It is impossible to curtail the emerging voices of the media.

The ex-president also especially welcomed PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz, saying he was "fully aware of the hardships you’ve been through and respect that".

“My solidarity is with Maryam Nawaz Sharif; she is like my daughters, she has suffered a lot in her struggle, and we stand by her. My message to Pakistani people is that we have united together to save democracy in the country and with the press, we will win through this,” he added.

Asif Ali Zardari said the APC should have taken place quite a while ago. Criticising the government for not "allowing" former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's speech to be broadcast, he said they showed former president Pervez Musharraf's interview.

"We have never seen such stringent censorship across the country," Zardari stated. "This reflects on the weakness of the government. It is impossible to curtail the emerging voices of the media.

Welcoming PML-N vice-president Maryam Nawaz, he said: "We have seen the difficulties she has faced and we can understand because my own sister has gone to jail and my wife went to jail [...] We pay tribute to her and we are with you, and will keep fighting for your cause and you will keep fighting for ours, I am sure."

The APC was hosted by PPP Co-Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and attended by leaders of PML-N, National Party (NP), Awami National Party (ANP), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and Jamiatul Hadees. NNI