PPP will not waver on stance over 18th Amendment, NFC: Bilawal

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Monday the party was being pressurised over the 18th Amendment and the National Finance Commission (NFC) but vowed it would not change its stance on these vital issues.

Talking to media after former President Asif Ali Zardari's appearance before the accountability court here, Bilawal stressed that the PPP would not compromise on the economic rights of the people and the Constitution of Pakistan.

“The PPP is being pressurised for 18th Amendment and the NFC but the PPP will not change its stance on such vital issues,” he told reporters. “If you want to arrest my entire family then do it but we will not compromise on the economic rights of the people and the Constitution of Pakistan.”

Bilawal criticised the strict security arrangements at the court, where the former president was presented for the Toshakhana reference by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

“Today all roads to the NAB court were blocked to stop people from witnessing the injustices meted out to PPP leadership,” Bilawal said. “Even president Zardari’s counsel, Advocate Farooq Naik and Sardar Abdul Latif Khosa, were stopped by the police,” he added.

“The entire Islamabad police are deputed for one court appearance,” he said, adding that several senior Supreme Court lawyers were also stopped. He asked whether it was a tactic to pressurise judges or the PPP. “Is it an independent state? What did they want to hide from the judges of the Supreme Court and the people of Pakistan,” he asked.

“Today is 17th August and every Jiyala remembers this day because this [day in 1988] was the last day of dictator Ziaul Haq. This should also be the end this hybrid regime, which is running through NAB. The PPP fought against dictators Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, Ziaul Haq and Musharraf and it is still fighting against this puppet regime,” he said.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that it was ironic that one judge of the NAB allowed Zardari to appear via a video link but the other NAB court judge ordered him to appear in person despite the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he added the PPP has always respected courts. He said the PPP was still expecting justice from the courts in Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's case.

The PPP chairman said that a notorious terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan escaped from custody. “He is the same person who boasted about martyring children of the Army Public School (APS) but no court in the country took suo moto notice. If they cannot give justice to the children of the APS, who they will give justice to,” he concluded.