PPP for separate electoral college for expatriates

Bilawal wonders how a person casting ballot in Paris can have his voted counted in Peshawar

PESHAWAR:

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari took a jibe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government on Tuesday, saying that the “real face of change is historic inflation and unemployment”.

Addressing a rally held to mark the party’s 54th foundation day in Peshawar, Bilawal said “dummy” chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa tried to stop today’s public gathering at the behest of Prime Minister Imran Khan. “The mammoth crowd present in the rally is a proof that people of Peshawar are with PPP,” he added.

He also hit out at opposition parties’ alliance, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), saying that even it could not stage such a power show against the government.

While maintaining that he too endorsed representation of the overseas Pakistanis in parliament, he asked how can a person cast their vote in Paris or New York and have the vote counted in Peshawar and Mardan. This is to dilute the vote of people living in Pakistan, he added.

Bilawal said there should be a separate electoral college for overseas Pakistanis and they should have their own representatives in parliament.

Bilawal said that the incumbent government’s ‘anti-poor’ economic policies were aimed at benefiting the rich. “The entire burden of PTI-IMF deal has been shifted to the common man,” he added.

The PPP leader while terming the deal with IMF ‘illegal’, said that all segments of society were reeling under the government’s flawed economic policies. “This government is a slave of IMF… in ‘new Pakistan’ democratic, human and economic rights of all citizens are being usurped,” he added.

‘Will challenge EVMs in streets and courts’

The PPP chief also accused the PTI-led government of plotting to rig the next general elections under the guise of overseas Pakistanis’ voting rights and electronic voting machines (EVMs).

He alleged that the EVMs was going to serve as yet another RTS, vowing to reject elections over its usage. “We will challenge it in the streets and courts.” He accused the government for using merely the “pretext” of voting rights to overseas Pakistanis.

In an apparent reference to ongoing negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Bilawal said that the incumbent government surrendered before the terrorists.

He said the government was holding talks with elements involved in heinous crimes and who massacred innocent children of Army Public School (APS).

Speaking about the alleged leaked audio conversations of former chief justice Saqib Nisar and PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, Bilawal said PPP will form the next government through the public mandate and not via conspiracies.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari announced to hold protest demonstrations in every city and town in Pakistan against the constant rise in petrol prices on 10 December.

On 17 December, the PPP will hold protest demonstrations in every district headquarter against the gas crisis throughout Pakistan. The death anniversary of the slain prime minister Benazir Bhutto will be observed in a huge public rally in Garhi Khuda Bux on 27 December where the next phase of the protests will be announced.