Bannu rally: Bilawal fires broadside at PTI, PML-N

PPP chief accuses PTI of supporting the Taliban; PML-N of focusing just on Punjab

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Taking a dig at Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) which rules the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Pakistan People Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has claimed that peace cannot return to the country until people stop treating the Taliban like brothers.

“There can be no peace in the country until the Taliban are stopped being treated like brothers,” the PPP chief said while addressing a public gathering at the K-P’s Bannu district on Saturday.

“There has been no new university in K-P for the last five years; however, from the education budget, 57 crores were gifted only to a specific seminary,” said Bilawal in a reference to the funding by the K-P government of Jamia Haqqania of Maulana Samiul Haq, who is regarded as a father figure by Taliban.

The PPP chief urged that activities of banned outfits must be stopped. “Social justice must be ensured; education syllabus must be changed and equal opportunities must be provided to the people across the country to change the environment that creates grounds for extremism and terrorism,” he said.

The PPP chairman warned that until these steps were not taken, there could be no peace.



He said only the use of force was not enough to eliminate terrorism. “It has taken and is still taking its roots from extremism which swelled during the rule of dictatorships in the country. Now it is time to end extremism if we are serious about eliminating terrorism,” he added

Bilawal said terrorism could only be uprooted if a complete rule of law was ensured and the people had all their basic rights. ““There can be no end to terrorism if people continue to go missing and get killed in targeted attacks,” the PPP chairman said.

He said the country was in need of such a judiciary which could do justice. “It needs such a police force, which the people can trust. The country needs of such institutions which can ensure the rule of law.”

The PPP chairman also called for addressing the grievances of Pakhtun youth “who have started a peaceful struggle for their people’s rights”.

“We have to pay attention to their worries and their demands. We have to see where we have committed blunders and mistakes that are in need to be ratified,” he added.

18^th amendment

Bilawal also expressed concerns over the changes in the 18^th amendment and accused the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of trying to backtrack from the political and financial sovereignty granted to the provinces after the amendment.

The PPP leader, however, assured the people of Bannu that his party would stand against all those forces trying to assail the provincial autonomy granted under this amendment

He claimed that the PML-N government had opposed renaming the province as Khyber-Pakhtunkwa and refused to provide identity to the people of K-P. “They wanted to deprive K-P of its historical identity. It was due to the strong stand of the PPP and allies that compelled the PML-N to accept it.”

Talking about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he claimed that its foundations were laid by the PPP to help revive the areas affected by terrorism and pull them out of poverty. “But unfortunately, now the CPEC can only be seen in Lahore and not in the backward areas of the country,” he added.

He also accused the PML-N leadership of spending national resources only on Punjab.

“The PML-N government has spent 94 per cent of federal discretionary funds on Punjab. While the PPP government had spent 47 per cent on Punjab and 21 per cent on K-P and Fata [Federally Administered Tribal Areas] which show how the PPP had ensured the equal distribution of funds,” he added.