No one asked PM for US military bases: Bilawal

It was during the PPP’s tenure the country did not give in to Washington and shut its bases says party chairman

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Imran Khan for unnecessarily playing up the matter of US military bases and “lying to the nation that he took a stand" against the United States “as if you were asked in the first place”.

Addressing an election rally in Azad Jammu and Kashmir's Haveli District, Bilawal heaped scorn on the premier for being a “puppet” and creating a false impression in front of the nation that he had stood firm in the face of US pressure “when no one even asked you”.

The chairperson said it was only during the PPP’s tenure that the country did not give in to Washington and went on to shut its bases.

"You must have been hearing that the US will not be given bases and the prime minister has taken a stand. But no one has even asked him, no one has made him a phone call, no one has asked him for a base, he is just saying it on his own," the PPP leader alleged.

Last month, the premier had categorically said that Pakistan would "absolutely not" allow any bases and use of its territory for any sort of action inside Afghanistan.

"Absolutely not. There is no way we are going to allow any bases, any sort of action from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan. Absolutely not," the prime minister told "Axios on HBO" in an interview.

Taking a dig at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Bilawal in his speech claimed his party would triumph over all political parties, urging the state’s people to get rid of "cats" – a thinly-veiled reference to PML-N. He pointedly lashed out at the party and said "they" should do politics like lions, not cats.

"The cat runs away but the lions remain among its people and face the challenges. We want that whoever is your representative remains among you and doesn't run away."

The chairman laced into PM Imran’s approach to the Kashmir issue. “We do not want a prime minister who prays for Modi's success in elections, nor a prime minister who invites Modi to wedding celebrations.”

“This PM was a polling agent of General Musharraf and Modi,” the PPP leader said, claiming the PPP was the only party that cannot compromise on Kashmir as it was founded on the issue of Kashmir.

Chairman PPP said that the real face of Imran Khan's change was historic poverty, record hike in unemployment. “The PPP increased salaries by 120 per cent, pensions by 100 per cent and for the soldiers fighting terrorism by 175 per cent.”

“The current government is snatching people’s roti, kapra aur makaan (bread, clothing and house).”