No negotiations until PTI apologises for torching Jinnah House: Bilawal

Foreign minister says incidents following Imran's arrest will be remembered in history for a long time to come

ISLAMABAD:

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday stated that any talks or negotiations with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will not take place unless the party tenders an apology for the torching of Jinnah House in Lahore.

In an unprecedented show of vandalism last week, PTI supporters had attacked and caused damage to the historic Corps' Commander’s House — originally known as Jinnah House and which once served as the residence of the founding father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah — hours after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested PTI chief Imran Khan in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case on Tuesday.

Pictures and videos from the historic building showed that all the rooms, halls, drawing rooms, living rooms, walls, curtains, doors, wooden ceilings, and even the floor had been burnt by the protestors.

Read more: FIR lodged against PTI leaders for attacking Jinnah House

The 130-year-old building of the Military Engineering Services, a few furlongs away from Corps' Commander House, was also set on fire, where valuable records, furniture, and vehicles were set ablaze.

“میں نے خود اس ملک و جمہوریت کی خاطر اپنے کندھوں پر شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو کا جنازہ اٹھایا ہے، تدفین کے بعد میں نے جمہوریت بہترین انتقام کا نعرہ لگایا۔”
وزیر خارجہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری @BBhuttoZardari pic.twitter.com/Mz6fBRMcqK

— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) May 15, 2023

Condemning the violent attacks in the National Assembly today, Bilawal said the incidents were unprecedented in the history of Pakistan. He said that these incidents will be remembered for a long time to come.

Bilawal called for the institutions to work within their constitutional ambit so that the government could concentrate on resolving the issues of the poor people.

In 1986, he said, over three million people gave a warm welcome to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto despite former president General Ziaul Haq being in power in Islamabad at the time.

"Benazir Bhutto did not use the occasion to incite violence against Ziaul Haq. The PPP has faced various incidents over the years but has refrained to resort to acts of violence," he added.

The PPP chairman accused Imran Khan of being involved in putting opposition leaders, including PML-N Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz and PPP leader Faryal Talpur, behind bars.

"Despite Talpur’s illness, doctors were pressured to hand her over to Imran Khan, who then allegedly changed the hospital’s medical superintendent and put Talpur in jail," he claimed.

Bilawal went on to say that PPP did not oppose the elections, as they believed that Imran Khan could be challenged through a fair election, and that the ruling coalition would contest and defeat him.

He said that the incumbent coalition government candidates had already defeated PTI chief and its candidates in several by-elections. The coalition was committed to protect the Parliament and Constitution, he concluded.