- PPP chairman taunts PM Nawaz Sharif, says ‘lion does not run on diesel’
- Calls for resignation of ‘foreign minister’ over disastrous foreign policy
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Monday that the ‘Raiwind throne’, not democracy, was threatened by accountability.
“Moving from one palace to another palace is not called accountability. Why do you run from courts when your accountability comes under discussion?” Bilawal asked targeting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while addressing a public gathering for election campaign in Mir Pur, Azad Kashmir.
It is pertinent to mention here that Nawaz Sharif will undergo an open-heart surgery in London on Tuesday (today). This has been Nawaz’s second visit to London in less than two months for medical purposes at a time when the controversy over Panama Papers still continues at home.
While beginning his speech, Bilawal asked people to especially pray for health recovery of the prime minister.
“We do not have any personal enmity with anybody. Our every work is in the interest of country and nation. Do not take anything personal,” he said.
He criticised the PM for announcing billions of rupee projects in rallies where people were holding flags of another party.
“Lion does not run on diesel,” the young PPP chairman said while taking a jibe at the PM for seeking support of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
The PPP chairman narrated the story of oppression his parents had encountered in different eras terming them strict accountability.
“Revengeful actions are being taken against PPP. Your government is also holding us accountable by making captive doctor of former president Asif Ali Zardari,” he said, indirectly pointing towards former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain’s arrest, adding that he believed in transparency and justice.
PPP WON’T BACK DOWN FROM KASHMIR STANCE:
Bilawal said that his party will never back off from its historic stance on the Kashmir dispute.
“We want a peaceful resolution to the Kashmir issue and only a strong Pakistan can support the Kashmir cause on every forum.”
He said that talks with opponents can be held on equal terms.
“Kashmir elections are around the corner; these elections are not ordinary as they will decide the future of Kashmir. The whole world is keeping an eye on the Kashmir elections because these elections will prove an important milestone to shape the future of Kashmir,” he said.
Bilawal said that if the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won these elections with its old tactics of “drama and rigging”, it would be as if Kashmiris supported PML-N’s anti-Kashmir and Modi-friendly policies.
“Will the Kashmiri people let this happen? Never!” he said
He said the Kashmir cause holds no importance for the ruling PML-N, adding that former president Asif Ali Zardari spent the last day of his presidency with Hurriyat leaders at the Kashmir House.
“The PPP has supported talks on all forums but people can’t forget that you did not even mention Kashmiris in your Ufa declaration out of your criminal silence. It was an injustice to the Kashmir cause and a conspiracy against the Kashmiris.”
He recalled that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had made Pakistan an atomic power. He did not want to see Pakistan becoming Nepal, Bhutan or Sikkim.
He called for the resignation of the foreign minister for the country’s disastrous foreign policy.
“The demand for PM’s resignation aside, today I demand resignation from the foreign minister as well,” he said and added, “Today our state has drifted towards isolation. India is our adversary. We don’t have the same terms with Afghanistan like we had before. Iran is also not happy with us. Where is our self autonomy?”
He said drone attacks are being carried out in settled areas of Balochistan and the CPEC projects are being made controversial.
“We failed to get F-16s from America. Our foreign policy is heading towards destruction,” he deplored.