Bilawal seeks trial of PTI leaders

ISLAMABAD:

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has demanded that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif should prosecute former prime minister Imran Khan, Qasim Khan Suri and President Arif Alvi for allegedly violating the Constitution.

Bilawal, while speaking in the National Assembly (NA), said that Pakistan has seen a democratic constitutional crisis and faced dictators. “Pakistan is facing historical inflation and economic crisis; the increasing pressure on the world economy during the Russia-Ukraine war and coronavirus pandemic is not in our hands,” he added.

He also said that the terrorists “played Holi” with the blood of the Pakistani nation for years and the former prime minister pardoned the terrorists and brought them back to resettle them.

“There is no example in the world of tribal people's competition with terrorists,” he added.

The foreign minister said that undemocratic things were done in response to every constitutional initiative, and the constitution was broken in response to democratic distrust. “We continued to do politics of the nobles, but this cannot happen with the Constitution,” he said, adding that people must be told why they are suffering from a crisis.

He also said that the former army chief used to interfere in politics in the past, and the children of a dictator cannot have a political future. “What is the reason that the children of all the dictators are in Tehreek-e-Insaaf today?” he asked.

The foreign minister said that in 1996, General Hameed Gul held the finger, while the role of General Pasha, General Zaheerul Islam, and General Faiz Hameed is in front of everyone. “Dictatorship in the Supreme Court (SC) was started by Iftikhar Chaudhry, and he was also a part of this hybrid war, his aim was the end of the Constitution; General Faiz and General Pasha are gone but Imran remains,” he added.

Bilawal said that a chief justice like Chaudhry has passed in the past, and one needs to think about who was responsible for the crisis in the country.

“General Pasha, General Islam, and General Faiz are all remembered. In our institutions, Einsteins sit and create plans and strategic assets,” he added.

The foreign minister said that they have been talking about the supremacy of the Constitution and free media, but undemocratic steps were taken in response to their democratic step.

He said that they did not do anything undemocratic by expelling an “undemocratic prime minister” and it is not appropriate to remain silent for the sake of democracy.

“The nation must be told why such situations have happened,” he added.
He further said that in response to the no-confidence motion, the then-prime minister, the-then speaker of the lower house, and the current president of the country “broke the Constitution”. “What did Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif do in response to this? If the constitution and law have been broken, file a case,” he demanded.

The foreign minister said that an organisation was involved in the conspiracy against the two prime ministers but now it has been decided that they will respond with this legislation.

“We were blackmailed in the process of bringing in the 19th Amendment,” he added.

Regarding the current political situation, he pointed towards existing polarisation. “When this fight is finally over, we have to sit together again and sit with those we do not like,” he added.