ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Thursday that 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).
Addressing a media conference in Islamabad, Bilawal Bhutto 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 nationwide. 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.
Bilawal Bhutto criticizes Imran Khan
He claimed that Imran Khan had abused his power while in office. The ex-PM used to oppose reforms while in power and used to claim that the then-opposition was using pressure tactics 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 Khan 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 opposed 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 Imran Khan stopped it, Bilawal maintained.
