Bilawal blasts newfound MQM-PTI bonhomie

Says parliament’s powers can’t be whimsically altered

KARACHI: Parliament’s powers to appoint the chief election commissioner, chairman NAB and caretaker government “cannot be altered on the whim of any individual or group”, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Wednesday.

Lambasting the MQM-PTI nexus, Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said that their attempt to dislodge Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah was a blow to parliament.

A statement issued here quoted Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari as saying that Shah acted as a bulwark even during crisis that threatened all stakeholders of democracy.



Praising Khursheed Shah’s role in bolstering parliament’s prestige, the PPP chairman said that lawmakers of MQM and PTI were still part of parliament, enjoying all perks and privileges, despite several attempts by both these parties to disrupt the parliamentary system.

Elements, he said, who were making artificial attempts to cobble up majority from within opposition ranks were, in fact, working against the parliamentary system.

Terming the sudden hobnobbing between the two parties surprising, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reminded that not too long ago, PTI and MQM were at each other’s throats.



Khursheed Shah, the PPP chairman said, had worked hard to assert parliament’s powers, while protecting its sovereignty through political acumen and sagacity.

“Democracy and true democrats on Opposition benches fully endorsed Syed Khursheed Shah in the National Assembly through thick and thin. His performance as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly remains magnanimous. The PPP is proud of his struggle for democracy,” he said.