Several senior PTI leaders including the federal ministers joined the march that started its journey towards the port city just a day before the PPP’s scheduled long march from Karachi to Islamabad.
Addressing to a the participants of the protest march called ‘Sindh Huqooq (rights) March, Foreign Minister Ministers Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi said they were raising voice of oppressed people of Sindh which was their democratic right.
They also claimed they were being stopped from hoisting flags in different areas of Sindh while PPP government was using police to intimidate their workers.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that PPP was already suffering from fear and anxiety. Ali Zaidi said PPP was the first party to bring terrorism in politics. He said that PTI’s Sindh Huqooq March was raising the voice for the rights of the downtrodden people who were victims of the provincial government’s corruption and bad governance.
He said the provincial government was responsible for increasing street crimes, tribal clashes and killings and incidents of harassment at the educational institutions. MPA Hakeem Adil Shaikh and PTI General Secretary Sindh Mubeen Jatoi and others also spoke on the occasion.
Foreign Minister and PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi also said the people of Sindh are ready to welcome Prime Minister Imran Khan. He said that the people of Sindh are demanding their rights from Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as they have suffered at the hands of the PPP for fifteen years. Party workers from different parts of the province have reached in the march.
A convoy of workers from Insaf House Sukkur led by PTI Sindh President and Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Ali Zaidi and General Secretary Mobin Jatoi joined the march. The march will reach Shikarpur, Kashmore and Jacobabad on Sunday (today).
| Qureshi says people of Sindh demanding their rights from Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
| Bilawal asks PM Imran Khan to resign, demands immediate elections
| Says Imran Khan will be defeated in no-confidence motion ‘if establishment’ remains neutral
On the other hand, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said Saturday that there will be no need of protests and a no-confidence motion if Imran Khan resigns. After the removal of Imran Khan, the interim setup will have limited responsibilities which include carrying out electoral reforms and hold transparent elections.
While addressing a press conference at Bilawal House, he said that the prime minister who has been imposed on the country has no legal justification. He was selected through rigging and he is a prime minister whose three years of puppet rule were followed by the funeral of democracy, and the drowning of the economy.
The economic, human and democratic rights of the people have been robbed, Bilawal said. “Khan Sahib has wreaked havoc on everything he has touched in the name of change. Be it foreign policy, be it society, be it politics, be it governance, or be it security matters.” Even the life of the common man has become unlivable. He said that in view of the current situation, the PPP decided that it will fight for the rights of the people.
“Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab should be given their rights,” said Chairman PPP. The provinces are being deprived of the NFC award, he said, adding, criticizing the selected government, Chairman PPP further said, “We have been raising our voice against PTIMF from day one. PTIMF is against the interest of Pakistan.”
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that it is the incompetence and failure of this government to make an agreement with the IMF that goes against the people. The burden of the government’s incompetence is being borne by the common man in the form of price-hike of electricity, gas bills, inflation, and uncontrolled petrol and medicines prices.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also said that his party was ready to back PML-N’s candidate for the prime minister’s slot if the Opposition is able to oust the incumbent government. Bilawal said in a democracy, anyone having the majority can decide who becomes the next prime minister?
“PML-N has the clear the majority; PPP and other opposition parties are ready to sacrifice the prime minister’s seat for them,” the PPP chairman said. “We plan on not repeating the mistakes we did in the past,” he added
He further said that we want Pakistan to come out of this deal and make a new deal which is in the interest of the country. He said that every promise of Khan Sahib turned out to be false, Imran Khan has taken U-turns on every commitment.
“This government is undemocratic, but we have taken up democratic arms against it,” said Chairman PPP. “The long march is a democratic attack on this undemocratic government.” He said the purpose of our protest is to convince the people and the members of the Assembly that the time has come where people have lost confidence in the selected prime minister, now the Parliament should also express its distrust. “We want to show the people who stand with this puppet after the no-confidence motion is brought,” stated Chairman PPP. He further said that through protests and no-confidence motion he only wants immediate and transparent elections in the country. After the removal of Khan Sahib, the next setup will have the mandate to amend or introduce electoral reforms. All the opposition parties agree that whatever government is formed with a fresh mandate, it will have the power to get the people out of the tough times they are currently in.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that senior leader of the party Taj Haider has prepared a comprehensive report on the 2018 elections, in which it has been pointed out how the said election process was compromised and what role was played by which institution. “We want the election commission to review this report and investigate it, on their own, before releasing this report to the public. If the election commission does not address our concerns then this report will have to be brought before other concerned institutions and the public.
Talking about the long march, Chairman PPP said that it would be the longest march in the history of the country covering more than 2000 kilometers. The long march starting from Karachi would pass through 37 cities and reach Islamabad. We will reach Lahore from Sahiwal, Pattoki on March 5, will reach Gujranwala on March 6, the last phase of the march will be from March 8.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that he appealed to the people of Pakistan, the youth, farmers, laborers, women and minorities to support the Pakistan Peoples Party, which wants to solve their problems. Let’s build a Pakistan as promised by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.
Responding to a question from a journalist during a press conference, the Chairman PPP said that all the opposition parties would have to come together and be on the same page to remove the present incompetent government. He said that he wants clean and transparent elections in the country as soon as possible.
“I don’t want the 2018 election to be replayed again,” he said. “Imran Khan wants to rig the election, that’s why he’s using tactics such as the PECA ordinance.
Responding to a question, the PPP Chairman said that his party believed in the power of the people and democratic politics and demanded that Imran Khan’s facilitators should remain neutral and no institution should go beyond its mandate. “We are not asking who is behind Imran Khan. We demand that all institutions remain neutral,” he added. He said that we hope that if the establishment is neutral then Imran Khan will be defeated in the no-confidence motion. We hope that all the institutions will remain neutral as per the constitution,” he added.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the opposition parties agreed on one point, that the current incompetent government should be removed. In the past there have been many forms of protests in Pakistan, sit-ins have been allowed here, Parliament and PTV have been attacked, but we will take a democratic and peaceful approach. Khan Sahib has imposed a tax on everything, but there is no tax on the no-confidence motion. We will bring a no-confidence motion, and God willing, we will succeed.
Chairman PPP said that we always think in the interest of Pakistan, and it is in the interest of Pakistan that we remove this person from office. Khan’s foreign policy has failed, whether in neighboring countries or in countries like China and the United States.
Responding to a question about the march announced by PTI, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the present government was ready to use every tactic to save its tyrannical rule.
“Our long march will be peaceful, we believe in democracy,” said Chairman PPP. “I wonder what the gang of political orphans is protesting against. We should be told who has robbed all the rights of Sindh including gas and water.”
Without naming the wrong march of the PTI, he questioned whether these people will ask the people to support them because they have sky-rocketed the prices of electricity, gas, petrol and sugar? Two of his federal ministers robbed a stockpile of fertilizer. There is also a minister who tried to take over the islands of Sindh. I believe the people of Sindh will answer them and he asked to the media to show the truth about who the people are with.
Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he was confident that the police and the administration would not allow any clash.
Chairman PPP said that he appeals to all the parties, including the MQM and GDA, which have formed this government to keep their ministry on one side and the issues facing the people on the other. I have asked the Chief Minister to talk to the MQM and GDA, because we believe in dialogue.
In response to another question, he said that we have never asked the workers to take down the flag of any party. Due to the hard work of the jiyalas, the party has become stronger all over Karachi including Central District.
PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Senator Raza Rabbani, Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Taj Haider, Shazia Marri, Faisal Karim Kundi, Waqar Mehdi, Nasir Shah, Saeed Ghani and other leaders were also present on the occasion.