LAHORE -  PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is confident that next general elections will be held on time, but his party may raise the issue of population census again after the polls. 

Talking to the media on Wednesday after visiting the residence of eminent columnist, Munno Bhai and PPP worker Dilawar Butt, Bilawal rejected speculations that elections may be delayed under the pretext of accountability.

He said that the idea of bringing in a technocrat set up was also floated during the last tenure of the PPP government, but everything went according to the book.

“It happened for the first time that one civilian government handed over power to another civilian government”, he said.

To a question about PPP’s stance on the population census, Bilawal said that his party may raise this issue again after the elections if the government did not address its reservations.

“We have swallowed this bitter pill for the time being because any delay in the legislation on delimitations could have caused Constitutional crisis”, he maintained, adding, that government had made the census results controversial because of its inefficiency.

Answering a question about a possible rapprochement with the PNL-N, Bilawal ruled out any reconciliation with the Nawaz party in the present situation.

He also made it clear that PPP leadership will not meet Mian Nawaz Sharif whom he accused of being part of conspiracies against democracy in his 30-year long political career.

Asked to comment on Nawaz Sharif’s statement suggesting that judges had given their verdict against him on behest of someone else, Bilawal said that it would not be possible for him (Nawaz)to establish his statement. 

To a question about JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman, the PPP leader said that he had great respect for the Maulana, but he had gone too far in defence of Mian Nawaz Sharif.

“He [Maulana] better concentrate on defending his own party rather than defending Nawaz League”, he stated.

Answering another question about the NAB cases pending against the PML-N and PPP leaders, he said that graft body had different set of rules for both the parties.

He said that PPP leader Sharjeel Memon was not getting fair treatment unlike the members of Sharif family who have not been arrested in any case.

Similarly, the names of two former Prime Ministers-Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf were placed on the ECL but Sharifs have been set free to move anywhere at their will.