No compromise on human rights, says Bilawal

PPP chairman maintains there is a ban on freedom of speech in country and voice of parliamentarians is not being heard

ISLAMABAD: Taking a jibe at the government, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regime was violating the human rights as there was a ban on the freedom of speech in the country and the voice of parliamentarians was not being heard.

Addressing a seminar on the World Human Rights Day in the federal capital on Tuesday, the PPP chairman reiterated that no compromise would be made on the human rights.

Bilawal, who is also the chairman of National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights questioned how the issues could be resolved if the voice of lawmakers was suppressed.

He said that the government only insisted on calling members of the parliament ‘thieves and robbers’.

“The government has been violating human rights. There can be no compromise on it. The country cannot progress if the fundamental human rights are not respected,” he said.

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“It is unfortunate that we cannot hold free and fair elections to this date. The votes of people are robbed and we must stop this practice. The issues faced by people are resolved only when their representatives are rightly elected,” he added.

Bilawal stressed that the constitution guaranteed the right of freedom of expression, which the state had not been able to ensure.
He regretted that the parliamentary discussions only focused on blame game.

“It is the responsibility of the state to protect its citizens, reward people for their hard work and protect their economic freedoms,” he asserted.

He said that the PPP government through the 18th amendment had ensured the right to education for the people.
“PPP has always been on the front for human and democratic rights of citizens,” he said.

The PPP chairman alleged that the representatives of the people in the country were pushed against the wall due to the way the democratic process was being ruin in the country.

He declared that Pakistan was not ready to withdraw from its demand regarding the right of Kashmiris to make their decision on the basis of vote.

“Kashmiris have the right to decide their fate through the process of ballot,” he said.