In a direct jibe at the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Quaid, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said the people of Sindh do not want to see Nawaz Sharif as the country’s prime minister for the fourth time.
“Na khappay, na khappay, Mian Sahib na khappay (Not wanted, not wanted, Nawaz Sharif not wanted),” he raised the slogan at a rally in Shikarpur on Friday, attributing it to the people of the district.
Later on Friday night, he also spoke at a news conference in Jacobabad district.
He reiterated that an alleged conspiracy was under execution to impose Nawaz on the nation as the PM for a fourth time.
“I want to convey the voice of Sindh to Islamabad that the people have given their decision that they don’t accept this conspiracy.”
He said Nawaz was giving an impression as if he had already become the PM.
According to Bilawal, the interim government was formed with the support of opposition leader Raja Riaz because no genuine opposition leader was present in parliament.
“Yesterday, Riaz was the opposition leader and today, he is fighting on the PML-N’s ticket.”
Bilawal contended that the caretaker federal government was being influenced by the PML-N, but he believed that the voters in Pakistan would put to rest the conspiracy to install Nawaz as the PM.
The PPP chairman pointed out that a large number of independent candidates had landed in the electoral fray in the country and that the perception that all the candidates belonged to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was wrong.
لائیو: چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی بلاول بھٹو زرداری شکارپور میں عوام سے خطاب کررہے ہیں۔ https://t.co/UvMkwjKo6Y
— Pakistan Peoples Party - PPP (@PPP_Org) February 2, 2024
“I urge the people not to waste their vote on independent candidates because the actual fight in this election is between the tiger (the PML-N’s electoral symbol) and the arrow (the PPP’s symbol). If you have to stop the tiger and you do not want to see Nawaz as the PM for a fourth time, then vote for the PPP.”
In response to the PML-N’s criticism over the PPP’s governance in Sindh, Bilawal questioned how many times Shehbaz Sharif or Maryam Nawaz visited Sindh.
“Shehbaz Sharif became the PM and how many times did he visit Sindh. Nawaz is going to become the PM for the fourth time but how many times did he visit.”
He maintained that a perception had been generated that other provinces lagged behind Punjab in terms of development.
Also read: Bilawal vows to resolve missing persons issue
“As if the two brothers are flowing canals of milk and honey in Punjab and their all roads are made of gold and their educational institutions have a standard higher than the Oxford University.”
He said he was fighting the general elections from Lahore and had witnessed that the ground realities there were no different from the rest of the country.
On the Jamaat-e-Islami’s criticism of the PPP, he responded that the JI was in search of a dictator like late Gen Ziaul Haq because they “know that only a dictator can make them a part of the government.”
“The people haven’t yet forgiven the JI’s mistake of supporting Ziaul Haq.”
شکارپور کے عوام نے پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی کے حق میں اپنا فیصلہ سنا دیا۔@BBhuttoZardari #چنو_نئی_سوچ_کو pic.twitter.com/Es2GNASnOl
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) February 2, 2024
Bilawal said parties like the JI and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan wanted to divide the people in the name of religion and ethnicity unlike the PPP.
He claimed that six attacks had been carried out on the PPP’s candidates in Balochistan.
He questioned the efficacy of the ongoing security operation in that province, saying that the way in which the ordinary people and political activists were being targeted in the name of law and order could not be condoned.
“I want all political parties to form a code of conduct after these elections so that politics can be done within the ambit of political norms and not personal revenge. This is necessary also for earning legitimacy for the electoral process in which no one is barred or impeded from the contesting.”
Also read: Hard to vote for PML-N, we'll form own govt: Bilawal
On the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister to Pakistan, he expressed his wish to see the security and terrorism challenges confronting the two countries resolved in an amicable way.
He also desired to complete the Pak-Iran gas pipeline project which he said was a dream of his father, former president Asif Zardari.
The PPP chairman said when he was the country’s foreign minister, he opened border markets so that the people living in the two countries along the borders could prosper.
شکارپور کے غیور عوام نے ہمارے عوامی معاشی معاہدے کے حق میں اپنا فیصلہ سنا دیا، آئیں مہنگائی، غربت اور بیروزگاری کا مقابلہ کرنے میں ہمارا ساتھ دیں اور 8 فروری کو تیر کے نشان پر مہر لگائیں۔@BBhuttoZardari #چنو_نئی_سوچ_کو #ShikarpurWithBilawal pic.twitter.com/u1zAlNFrV6
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) February 2, 2024
He emphasised the need for simplifying trade and tourism relations with Iran as a long-term measure.
“Among our four neighbouring countries, we just talk to one. I want that we talk to all the four neighbours and enhance trade with them for economic benefits of the people in Pakistan and the region.”
1731929357-0/Express-Tribune-(6)1731929357-0-270x192.webp "punjab govt announces guidelines for school reopening")
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