Bilawal urges change of govt through parliament alone

LAHORE:

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday termed the removal of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government through a no-confidence motion in April this year “progress” for democratic forces and the institutions.

Addressing the fourth annual Asma Jahangir Conference, Bilawal, who is the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), said that not everything was rosy in the country and stressed the need for hard work to improve the situation.

“Not everything is rosy in Pakistan at the moment but we should note that the democratic forces and institutions have progressed. We should also work for further improvement,” Bilawal said in his keynote speech.

“We sent Imran Khan home through a democratic process—the no-confidence motion. We have removed a prime minister, who assumed power through undemocratic means by using the democratic path,” he added.

“Before this, prime ministers were either removed by being sent to the gallows, eliminated by bomb blasts, exiled, disqualified through courts or by orders from Gate No 4,” he said, while referring to the military establishment.

Similarly, he continued that he hoped that opposition parties would be stay in parliament and not come from the Gate No 4.

Bilawal fired a broadside against former prime minister Imran for playing “Russian Roulette with the national economy”, stressing that criticism of Imran’s economic policies from all political parties was on record.

“Imran Khan was the first prime minister in the history of Pakistan, who attacked the country’s economy to save his politics. We did not think that Imran Khan would go to such an extent that he would harm the economy,” he said.

Catastrophic floods

“We saved Pakistan from default. Just as we helped the country emerge from the threat of default, we faced the biggest climate catastrophe, the floods, the likes of which we have never seen in our country,” he added.

The PPP chairman told the participants that 33 million people or 1 in every 7 Pakistanis had been affected by the floods. “Thirty-three million is such a big number, it is hard to quantify,” he added.

He said that every part of the country, from Gilgit-Baltistan to South Punjab, to Balochistan and Sindh. Though cameras were not there anymore and there was a lack of viral videos, he added, “our brothers and sisters are still struggling”.

The foreign minister warned that today, Pakistan’s people had been impacted by the climate-change but tomorrow there would be another nation. “If we all unite to combat this challenge, only then can we find a solution to it.”

He made it clear that there was no international financial institution that could single-handedly fund the relief and rescue of 33 million people, at once, and then support the reconstruction and rehabilitation for those millions.

Instead, he stressed the need for collective efforts to mitigate the impact of climate-induced catastrophe both at the local level as well as at the international level.

“We will make Pakistan a pilot project when we will start the rehabilitation process. We will build back better and greener, in a more resilient manner,” he said. “We will ensure that the people are benefitted by this progress.”

As far as the flood and its victims were concerned, Bilawal stressed the need for all the political parties of the country to develop consensus on battling this menace.

“Our political differences and issues will continue, but we cannot forget those who are suffering right now. It is my appeal…do not forget the flood victims as they are still sleeping under an open sky, without shelter,” he said.

“Had this [natural calamity] happened anywhere else, it would have emerged as the only one national issue for that country. We want your help and support so that we emerge from this crisis.”

He expressed the hope that the participants of the Asma Jahangir Conference would not only defend democracy and the parliamentary system but ensure that “save our next generation” from religious and political extremism.

Political extremism is not only being combatted in Pakistan, but India, Europe and the US. If the extremists in Pakistan are targeting Islamabad, then those in the US have Washington as their target,” Bilawal warned.

“We hope that the new generation will support the truth, democracy and progress, while denouncing chaos, extremism and one person’s ego,” the foreign minister told the conference.

Earlier in his speech, Bilawal paid rich tributes to Asma Jahangir. He said that the late human rights activist used to guide him from time to time, calling her a role model for him as well as all the human rights activists.

Bilawal said if he had met Jahangir after assuming the office of the foreign minister, “the first question she would have asked me would have been, ‘Bilawal, did you become the foreign minister as a result of a deal with the dangerous duffers? I would have answered no, absolutely not’.”

Enforced disappearances

Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar told the conference that enforced disappearances was a serious matter and the government was committed to taking legal and practical steps for its solution.

“Enforced disappearances have become a stigma for our society. Collective efforts will be made for finding solution to the problem. Pakistan’s Constitution gives guarantee of personal freedom and human rights,” he added.

The matter of enforced disappearances was raised in parliament and at different forums, he said, adding that it was related to security; therefore, its solution could be discussed in in-camera proceedings.

Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that collective efforts were needed to normalise life in flood-hit areas.

He stressed that everyone would have to identify his or her responsibility and come forward to help the flood victims. “Nobody could pass on his responsibilities to others,” he added.

“The responsibilities of a state are divided among three organs of the state: parliament, executive and judiciary; but there are vast grey areas also and as a result of it, there is an inherent conflict which is perhaps natural,” he said.

He added that these conflicts like judicial activism, executive incursions and supremacy of parliament needed to be resolved on a priority basis through collective efforts.

He held the view that until the institution of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was there, the country could not move forward, because it was making the executive paralysed, while parliament was unable to take independent decisions.

Former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani, Senator and former president Supreme Court Bar Association Syed Ali Zafar and Member National Assembly (MNA) Dr Nafisa Shah also addressed the conference.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)