KARACHI,May 11,2023 – Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday he was not in favour of proscribing any political party, adding that he would be the last person to agree to such a decision, a possible reference to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The PTI workers have been protesting against the arrest of party chief and ex-premier Imran Khan in a graft case, resorting to violence in which public and private property was damaged, prompting authorities to warn it with slapping a ban.
Addressing a press conference here, Bilawal urged the PTI leadership and workers to act like a political party and not like a “group of terrorists” so that it would not face ban. He warned that if they engaged in an “armed rebellion” against the state, the government would be compelled to ban the party as a last resort. He, however, expressed the hope that the government would refrain from doing so.
Foreign Minister Bilawal advised the PTI to “not make matters worse” and urged it to end violent protests across the country. He termed the PTI workers’ reaction “completely unjustified”, saying violence had created a situation in which serious conversation was needed.
People involved in criminal activities would be held accountable, he added.
Bilawal accused the PTI of violating the law and the Constitution, plunging the country into anarchy.
“I believe that the PTI has crossed all limits, and now it is the responsibility of the state, institutions concerned and courts to enforce law and the Constitution,” he continued. He said there were only two examples of the General Headquarters (GHQ) coming under attack — once by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the other by the PTI.
He said Imran Khan was arrested in accordance with the law and the Constitution. The allegations under which he was arrested were “serious”, he added.
“If you or I were involved in this crime, we would have be in jail. Khan Sahib always called for accountability in the country,” Bilawal said. He sarcastically remarked that when Imran was arrested, his followers would have said look how brave our leader is!
But, instead of a call for peaceful protest, the PTI resorted to violence. They picked up stones, sticks and guns. “Such attacks are rare in history,” he added.
He claimed that Imran Khan had abused his power while in the office. The ex-premier used to oppose reforms while in power and used to claim that the then opposition was using pressure tactics in order to get an NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance).
Bilawal said the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) had investigated a case [against a property tycoon] and had wanted to return £190 million to Pakistan. They sent the money but Imran misappropriated it, he maintained. The money belonged to Pakistan, to the people of Sindh. Imran, who always called for accountability, was given the opportunity to bring back the looted money of the people, he said.
He said the PPP had never celebrated the arrests of its political rivals. “When a politician is arrested, it is the loss of the entire country.”
He noted that the PPP had always been opposed to the NAB (National Accountability Bureau) but the PTI had been defending it. “Closing down the NAB was a part of the charter of democracy but Khan stopped it.”
“We told Mian Sahib [Nawaz Sharif] that the NAB should be closed. We were not heard. Today, our allies have been supporting our stand. We all demanded that NAB should be reformed. And we brought NAB reforms. Now instead of 90 days, the remand in NAB custody has reduced to 14 days. Imran himself is benefiting from the reforms,” Bilawal quipped.
He said the PPP was trying to hold elections in the country.
“We were trying to have a dialogue between the political parties on it. I was hopeful that our political dialogue would be successful. Even today, we want the election to be on time,” he concluded.