- Says if his demands were not met then PPP will stage protests while remaining under the ambit of the constitution
- Says if PPP PM appeared in courts then why PM Nawaz did not appear before court
KARACHI, Dec 13 (SABAH): Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of severe consequences if the latter fails to meet his four demands by December 27. The PPP chairperson said he would announce his future strategy on Dec 27. He said if his demands were not met then PPP will stage protest while remaining under the ambit of the constitution. Bilawal said he did not speak lie and if he will announce protest then he will certainly protest. Bilawal said so far the government is even not ready to accept one out of four demands. He said if prime ministers belonging to PPP appeared in courts then why Amirul Mominin Nawaz Sharif did not appear before court.
He was addressing a press conference in Karachi after holding party meeting to review implementation of his four demands. Former PM Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Opposition Leader in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, Opposition Leader in Senate Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Farooq Hameed Naek and other leaders were also present on the occasion.
He said supremacy of law should be equal for him and the prime minister. I never backtrack on my promise. I still keep my word to launch movement against the government, he added.
Hurling barbs at his opponents, Bilawal said be it ‘u-turn’ proponents or any politician, we would uphold working relationship with everyone.
He expressed worry that law and order in Punjab was deteriorating once again. Bilawal said level of injustice could be gauged from comparisons between budget of Lahore and the whole country.
“If he is not willing to respond to our demand for a bill to probe Panama Papers leaks, if he is conceding that he is not the country’s democratically elected prime minister but an Amirul Momineen who is answerable to no one, then after December 27, we will teach him how to do opposition and will demand answers from him,” Bilawal said.
Bilawal said “the premier had jeopardised his children’s political future by buying properties overseas in their name…he is shameless”.
About CPEC, Bilawal said the project was Asif Ali Zardari’s brainchild and when it was becoming controversial, the then government had called an All Parties Conference (APC) to dispel misgivings and develop consensus.
“It is our simple demand to implement the decisions taken in the APC on CPEC so we can ensure democratic accountability of the country’s economy,” the PPP chairman said.
He said the PPP also wanted democratic accountability of the country’s foreign policy. “We want that accountability, and the first step for this is for us to get a foreign minister,” he said.
“Our demands will go a long way in carrying out democratic accountability of all the institutions and to curb corruption of every kind,” he said.
“I know you are tired of listening to the things I have been saying for months now but we too have reached the end of our tether,” the PPP chairman said.
He added that after December 27, the PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) and its federal council will hold their first joint meeting since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and decide on the party’s future course of action.
He said the PML-N is not serious to meet his four demands, adding that the government is not ridiculing them but people of Pakistan.
He also warned that if the federal government didn’t meet the four-point charter of demand, he will stick to the slogan of “Go Nawaz Go”. “I am son of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed, I do politics of truth,” he said. “We are not requesting the government; we will see to it that our demands are met,” he added.
It may be mentioned here that Bilawal has demanded the government to form a parliamentary committee on national security, adopt the PPP-drafted bill on Panama Papers probe, implement decision of the multi-party conference chaired by Asif Zardari on CPEC and appoint a full-time foreign minister.-Sabah
