Last chance; Long march if demands not met, warns Bilawal

Says he is ready to work with Imran Khan if he takes politics seriously

SUKKUR: If the government fails to accept the Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) four demands regarding Panamagate, protests, sit-ins and a long march will be carried out.

PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced this while talking to the media after having lunch with the Mahar brothers Saturday afternoon. "We are giving a last chance to the prime minister, after which we will resort to protests, sit-ins and a long march," he warned. "If [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairperson] Imran [Khan] takes politics seriously and not like a sportsman, we will consider a working relationship with him."

Terming Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif an 'experienced prime minister', Bilawal said that waging a war against him would not be an easy task. "But if our demands are not met, we will let him [know] how protests and sit-ins are staged in a democracy," he said. "And when Bibi's son will lead the protest, then not only Nawaz Sharif, but Shahbaz Sharif, too, will have to go."

Flanked by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah, provincial ministers Nasir Hussain Shah and Rafiq Jamali and MPA Ikram Dharejo among others, Bilawal was welcomed at Khangarh Palace by the Mahar brothers. Soon after his arrival at Khangarh Palace, the PPP chairperson held a closed-door meeting with the Mahar brothers for around 40 minutes.

Sources said that during the meeting, the Mahar brothers - sports minister Sardar Muhammad Bux Mahar, Sardar Ali Gohar Mahar, Ali Nawaz Mahar, Ali Raja Mahar and Ali Muhammad Mahar - expressed reservations about not getting a due share in the politics of Ghotki district. The Mahar brothers also strongly opposed the proposal of Nadir Akmal Laghari and Khalid Khan Lund joining the PPP, added the sources.

They added that the Mahar brothers told Bilawal that they have two seats each of MNA and MPA in the district and, therefore, demanded an upper hand in the politics of the district. Bilawal assured them that their reservations will be sorted out accordingly, said sources.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2016.