PPP chairman says first electoral reforms, then general elections

PPP chairman says first electoral reforms, then general elections

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing a news conference following the party’s CEC meeting in Karachi on April 26. SCREENGRAB

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is scheduled to take oath as a federal minister on Wednesday (today), following approval of the party’s top decision-making body.

Speaking at a news conference after the PPP Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting on Tuesday, the scion of the Bhutto family said that big challenges lied ahead but assured that the incumbent government would overcome them. “I will reach Islamabad tomorrow (today) and take oath [as federal minister],” Bilawal, who has been tipped as the country’s next foreign minister, told reporters. After the oath-taking, he said, he “will be part of the Shehbaz Sharif government”.

At the start of the news conference, Bilawal condemned the terrorist attack on Chinese teachers in Karachi, terming the incident at the Karachi University “an attack on national security”. However, he stressed that the country’s security agencies had the capability to prevent such attacks.

“The CEC has condemned terrorism in Karachi. The PPP will raise its voice against terrorism across the country,” he said. “There are problems all over the country. There are more problems for the youth in Balochistan. Our Baloch brothers can get their rights through a peaceful struggle. We know their rights.”

On the political situation, Bilawal said, the CEC congratulated the nation on abolition of a “selected system in the country” through democratic process of the vote of no confidence. He added that the journey that had begun would culminate at its destination.

“For the first time in the history of Pakistan, a democratic no-confidence motion has succeeded. We have achieved the success but we cannot forget the unconstitutional moves. If the violation of the Constitution is forgotten, there will be more violations,” he said. Well he didnot mention the truth about unflynched support from two miughty quarters.

“The speaker and the deputy speaker are involved in the violation of the Constitution. The attack on the Constitution should be investigated. I am going to Islamabad with the decision of this CEC meeting,” the PPP chairman added.

Bilawal stressed that they achieved their goals democratically, but added that there were challenges ahead. “The way Shehbaz Sharif spoke in his first speech, it gave the impression that a sober and political person has become the prime minister,” he added.

“Every problem can be solved in a democratic way. We will all get the country out of the problems. Working together will lead us to better results and success,” Bilawal said, announcing that the government would introduce electoral reforms before calling the next general elections.

Bilawal also criticised former prime minister Imran Khan, saying that he was running a “why I was not saved” campaign. He added that the state institutions were moving towards their constitutional roles and the PPP stood by them. “We salute all the institutions that have become neutral,” he said.

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He also said that Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had made a mistake by leaving parliament. He advised Imran to return to parliament and contest in a democratic manner, stressing that a civil war was not the answer to any problem.

The PPP chief said that he met Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Quaid Nawaz Sharif in London. He dispelled all the rumours about his meeting, saying that they talked about the Charter of Democracy – the document signed by Nawaz and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2006.

“We all want fair and transparent elections, so we have to introduce electoral reforms,” Bilawal said. “We will all work together with political parties on electoral reforms. First, it was stated that accountability first, then election, we say that reforms first, then the elections.”

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