Bilawal says Shehbaz going to become PM, thanks to PTI

KARACHI  -  Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari says pol­itics of violence cannot be tolerated.

While talking to re­porters in Karachi on this evening, he said those involved in the at­tacks on PPP workers would be dealt with iron hands. Bi­lawal also said that his party will not forget the injustices meted out to it during the recent general elec­tions and the martyrdom of Jiyalas. He mentioned that the opposition parties, protesting in the name of ‘Dhandhali’ (rigging), have never won elections in Sindh, while Imran Khan wants Mian Shehbaz Sharif to become the prime minister.

The PPP chairman visited the house of Shaheed Abdul Rehman, a 12-year-old party worker who was martyred in an attack by armed MQM activists during the recent election campaign in New Karachi. He offered condolences to Shaheed Abdul Rehman’s mother, Rasoola Bibi, and maternal uncle, Abdul Ghaffar, and offered Fateha for the martyr’s eternal peace.

Speaking to the media on the oc­casion, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that there was pressure on the fam­ily of Shaheed Abdul Rehman to end their association with the PPP, add­ing that when they did not comply, they were fired upon. He said that instead of providing justice to the victim’s family, law enforcement agencies registered FIRs against it. He announced that his party’s up­coming government in Sindh would form a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to investigate all violent inci­dents during the elections. “By giv­ing exemplary punishment to those involved in the violence as per the law, we will bring justice to our workers as well as all other politi­cal workers, ensuring that such in­cidents do not happen again in the future,” he added.

The PPP chairman said that the 2024 elections were not much dif­ferent from the 2018 elections, and recalled: “I raised my objections to the election in front of the whole of Pakistan after the (party’s) Cen­tral Executive Committee (CEC) meeting.” He said that, according to Forms-45, PPP candidates have won PS-124 and PS-125, but candi­dates from other parties have been declared successful in these con­stituencies. He furthered that the PPP would fight its case on the rel­evant forums regarding elector­al discrepancies. “I hope we will get justice, and if we don’t, we will chalk out the future course of ac­tion,” he added.

The PPP leader said that those who are protesting unnecessarily in the name of ‘Dhandhali’ in Sindh these days have not won a single election in the past. “It is strange that parties that cannot win elec­tions without ‘dhandhali’ are now protesting against ‘Dhandhali,’” he said, adding that these people are not against ‘Dhandhali,’ but they are asking for a free hand to en­gage in rigging. He pointed out that in the 2002, 2013, and 2018 elec­tions too, these parties had lost to the PPP.” Addressing the protesting parties, he asked them not to just make allegations but to present ev­idence. “Tell us which constituen­cies and polling stations experi­enced rigging. Has my Larkana seat been rigged? From where did I win with a lead of one lac,” he asked.

Responding to a question, Bilaw­al said that now the Sunni Ittehad Council (he meant PTI) should tell the truth to its workers that it does not have the majority to form the government, adding that the PTI did not stop Shehbaz Sharif from becoming the Prime Minister. “If Shehbaz Sharif is going to become the prime minister, he will thank us and the PTI, (because) I think Khan Sahib himself would have decided not to field a candidate against She­hbaz Sharif,” he contended.

Talking about the issue of writing a letter to the International Mone­tary Fund (IMF), the PPP chairman said that writing a letter against Pa­kistan to the IMF will not accom­plish anything. However, after this letter, the real face of the person has been revealed in front of the public, who love his politics more than the national interest.

Bilawal said that religious, lin­guistic, and sectarian terrorism are our “red lines.” We will not tolerate these things neither in the metrop­olis nor in this province. “Those parties who want to promote ter­rorism, it will be their mistake. (As) we will not allow this to happen here,” he warned.

Later, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited the residence of the party’s Information Secretary, Shi­raz Awan for PS-99 in North Kara­chi and condoled the killing of his nephew and former General Secre­tary of People’s Youth Organization (PYO), Abdul Wahid Awan Shaheed. He also offered condolences to the martyr’s father, Tariq Pervaiz, brothers Abdul Wajid, Hafiz Faisal, and Shah Rukh, and offered Fateha for the Shaheed.