Bilawal rejects 'fake accountability'
Zardari warns rivals of fierce fightback 'in court and everywhere else'
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asif Ali Zardari at Garhi Khuda Bux. PHOTO: PPP
HYDERABAD:
[fbvideo link="https://www.facebook.com/etribune/videos/2067221093568929/"][/fbvideo]
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has rejected the joint investigation team's (JIT) report implicating his father, the PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, in a multi-billion rupees money laundering case and dubbed the report a pack of lies.
"I don't accept it and the people of this country won't accept it," asserted Bilawal while addressing a large crowd of the PPP supporters at the 11th death anniversary of his mother, former prime minister and the slain PPP chief Benazir Bhutto at the mausoleum of Bhuttos in Garhi Khuda Baksh on Thursday.
"The honourable courts are being fooled, misled and used for the political engineering," he said, but hoped that the Supreme Court, which issued notices to Zardari to submit a reply on December 31 following submission of the report, would eventually reject the JIT's report as fake.
He asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which compiled the report to explain why it is not taking up probe into the Asghar Khan case, insider trading by Jahangir Tareen's servants, undeclared properties of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khanum and assets beyond means of Aleem Khan.
The PPP chief also questioned why his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and mother, Benazir Bhutto, are yet to get justice for their murders despite passage of so many years.
Govt decides to place Zardari's name on ECL
He recalled the 11-year-imprisonment of his father in a series of cases like ARY gold, BMW cars, narcotics, polo ground and murders in which he was ultimately acquitted by the courts. "They can't trace the killers of SP Tahir Dawar but they find out my breakfast bills," Bilawal said.
He pointed out that two of the cases in which he has also been charged belong to times when he was respectively one-year and six-year-old. "If I was really such intelligent kid, I should be given Sitara-e-Imtiaz but they are sending me the notices."
Enumerating Zardari’s achievements, Bilawal said his father's ‘long list of crimes’ includes such acts like keeping Pakistan united after Benazir's assassination, apologising to Baloch people for Akbar Bugti’s killing, restoring 1973 Constitution and giving autonomy to the provinces.
"His crime was to introduce Aghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan. His crime was to give Gwadar to China. His crime was signing gas import deals with Iran and TAPI pipeline. His crime is that he made efforts for fulfillment of dreams of Zulfikar Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto."
Bilawal claimed that the ongoing investigations and upcoming court trials against his family and the party aim at forcing them to accept abolition of the 18th Constitutional Amendment. But, he said, he and his party will not compromise and that they cannot be frightened with the 'so-called' accountability.
"The purpose of installing Imran Khan [as prime minister] is something else. They want to make Pakistan a One Unit, and to create a one-party rule. They want the Centre to seize control of the provinces’ natural resources."
Bilawal said the PM and his party are oblivious of the fact about weakening foundation of the federation
"A spark can ignite a fire," he added. He referred to the protest movement in Khyber Pakhtunkwa (K-P), protests for recovery of missing persons in Balochistan, opposition to dams in Sindh and unmet demands of Gilgit-Baltistan and called them raging issues.
"The slogans which were raised after conviction of [former prime minister] Nawaz Sharif in Punjab could not be imagined earlier,” he said, lamenting that the powers that be are indifferent to the sentiments of these people.
He said the powers that installed Imran Khan through a highly rigged election should have at least trained Khan in matters of governance. "You should have taught him that chicken and eggs can't change fate of the nation."
He advised the PM to take a look at the mausoleum of Bhuttos when he thinks that taking U-turn is quality of a leadership. "Here are buried the people who sacrificed their lives but didn't take U-turns."
Addressing the rally before Bilawal, the PPP's co-chairman Zardari said he and his party are ready to put up a fight whether in the courts of law or outside against alleged conspiracies.
"We will confront them the way they want. I am here. My son is here. And my party is here," he said, suggesting that none of them would go in self-exile to avoid their persecution.
He likened the federal ministers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who often criticise Zardari as ripped dhols, a percussion musical instrument, who have a tendency to twaddle on talk shows. "The PPP will alone face them all because no other party has the courage."
Accusing the PTI's government of drowning people in a Tsunami of inflation, he reiterated that the PTI government will not be able to sustain for long. He expressed hope that his party will emerge successful in the next general election and make a government as well.
He said despite financial help of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the PTI is not able to control inflation and the depreciating rupee which is continuously hurting the economy with repercussions for common people.
Top PPP leaders – Yousuf Raza Gillani, Qaim Ali Shah, Aitizaz Ahsan, Nisar Khuhro, Qamar Zaman Kaira and others – also spoke on the occasion.
[fbvideo link="https://www.facebook.com/etribune/videos/2067221093568929/"][/fbvideo]
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has rejected the joint investigation team's (JIT) report implicating his father, the PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, in a multi-billion rupees money laundering case and dubbed the report a pack of lies.
"I don't accept it and the people of this country won't accept it," asserted Bilawal while addressing a large crowd of the PPP supporters at the 11th death anniversary of his mother, former prime minister and the slain PPP chief Benazir Bhutto at the mausoleum of Bhuttos in Garhi Khuda Baksh on Thursday.
"The honourable courts are being fooled, misled and used for the political engineering," he said, but hoped that the Supreme Court, which issued notices to Zardari to submit a reply on December 31 following submission of the report, would eventually reject the JIT's report as fake.
He asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) which compiled the report to explain why it is not taking up probe into the Asghar Khan case, insider trading by Jahangir Tareen's servants, undeclared properties of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khanum and assets beyond means of Aleem Khan.
The PPP chief also questioned why his grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and mother, Benazir Bhutto, are yet to get justice for their murders despite passage of so many years.
Govt decides to place Zardari's name on ECL
He recalled the 11-year-imprisonment of his father in a series of cases like ARY gold, BMW cars, narcotics, polo ground and murders in which he was ultimately acquitted by the courts. "They can't trace the killers of SP Tahir Dawar but they find out my breakfast bills," Bilawal said.
He pointed out that two of the cases in which he has also been charged belong to times when he was respectively one-year and six-year-old. "If I was really such intelligent kid, I should be given Sitara-e-Imtiaz but they are sending me the notices."
Enumerating Zardari’s achievements, Bilawal said his father's ‘long list of crimes’ includes such acts like keeping Pakistan united after Benazir's assassination, apologising to Baloch people for Akbar Bugti’s killing, restoring 1973 Constitution and giving autonomy to the provinces.
"His crime was to introduce Aghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan. His crime was to give Gwadar to China. His crime was signing gas import deals with Iran and TAPI pipeline. His crime is that he made efforts for fulfillment of dreams of Zulfikar Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto."
Bilawal claimed that the ongoing investigations and upcoming court trials against his family and the party aim at forcing them to accept abolition of the 18th Constitutional Amendment. But, he said, he and his party will not compromise and that they cannot be frightened with the 'so-called' accountability.
"The purpose of installing Imran Khan [as prime minister] is something else. They want to make Pakistan a One Unit, and to create a one-party rule. They want the Centre to seize control of the provinces’ natural resources."
Bilawal said the PM and his party are oblivious of the fact about weakening foundation of the federation
"A spark can ignite a fire," he added. He referred to the protest movement in Khyber Pakhtunkwa (K-P), protests for recovery of missing persons in Balochistan, opposition to dams in Sindh and unmet demands of Gilgit-Baltistan and called them raging issues.
"The slogans which were raised after conviction of [former prime minister] Nawaz Sharif in Punjab could not be imagined earlier,” he said, lamenting that the powers that be are indifferent to the sentiments of these people.
He said the powers that installed Imran Khan through a highly rigged election should have at least trained Khan in matters of governance. "You should have taught him that chicken and eggs can't change fate of the nation."
He advised the PM to take a look at the mausoleum of Bhuttos when he thinks that taking U-turn is quality of a leadership. "Here are buried the people who sacrificed their lives but didn't take U-turns."
Addressing the rally before Bilawal, the PPP's co-chairman Zardari said he and his party are ready to put up a fight whether in the courts of law or outside against alleged conspiracies.
"We will confront them the way they want. I am here. My son is here. And my party is here," he said, suggesting that none of them would go in self-exile to avoid their persecution.
He likened the federal ministers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who often criticise Zardari as ripped dhols, a percussion musical instrument, who have a tendency to twaddle on talk shows. "The PPP will alone face them all because no other party has the courage."
Accusing the PTI's government of drowning people in a Tsunami of inflation, he reiterated that the PTI government will not be able to sustain for long. He expressed hope that his party will emerge successful in the next general election and make a government as well.
He said despite financial help of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the PTI is not able to control inflation and the depreciating rupee which is continuously hurting the economy with repercussions for common people.
Top PPP leaders – Yousuf Raza Gillani, Qaim Ali Shah, Aitizaz Ahsan, Nisar Khuhro, Qamar Zaman Kaira and others – also spoke on the occasion.