ISLAMABAD – Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday thatPakistan Peoples Party co-Chairman Asif Zardari should avoid mudslingingand baseless claims.

According to media reports, Nawaz Sharif expressed that recent statementsof Zardari would not befit the head of a PPP, adding that he did not wantto engage in a war of words with the former president.

Earlier, Asif Zardari had claimed that Nawaz had taken every opportunity todiscredit him by making him fight with the establishment while he(Nawaz)himself extended a hand of friendship towards them.

In a statement today, Nawaz asked whether Zardari was so innocent that hewas double-crossed by me.

The ousted PM claimed that he sent a message disliking Zardari’s remarksduring his ‘anti-establishment’ speech in 2015, adding that he thencancelled a planned meeting with Zardari the next day.