Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Tuesday said the government has responded to his demand of removing the ministers whom he had accused of being associated with banned outfits “by declaring me to be anti-state, issuing death threats, and NAB notices.”

“The government has responded to my demand to sack ministers associated with banned outfits by declaring me anti-state, issuing death threats and NAB notices,” he posted on his Twitter handle. “None of this deters us from our principled stand; form joint NSC parliamentary committee & act against banned outfits,” he added.

While addressing a press conference on March 13, the PPP chairman had demanded the removal of three federal ministers for allegedly being supporters of banned groups and having links with proscribed organisations.

Following the press conference, Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed had issued a ‘warning’ to Bilawal, saying, “I have forgiven Bilawal once. It will be better for him if he plays the game [in political arena] wisely or else he may get killed in politics.”

Replying to railways minister’s remarks on his brother and PPP chairman, Bakhtawar Bhutto had expressed her anger and accused Sheikh Rasheed of hurling death threats at Bilawal. “From spewing hate speech, Fed ministers now hurling direct death threats at @BBhuttoZardari.

Having extremist right wingers threaten a Bhutto is nothing new but 4 a cabinet member 2 give an OPEN DEATH THREAT to someone whose entire family were killed is disgusting. #sackthisbigot”,” she had posted on her Twitter handle.

Reacting strongly to Sheikh Rasheed’s ‘threat’ to the party chairman, several PPP leaders had announced that the party would not ignore the minister’s statement and might take legal action against him. “The party would not ignore Sheikh Rasheed’s threat to Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Mr Rasheed has been a facilitator of terrorist organisations in the past and that is why his statements cannot be ignored as mere mockery. Our struggle and patience should not be seen as a weakness,” PPP’s Central Information Secretary Dr Nafisa Shah had said.

PPP’s Punjab Secretary General Chaudhry Manzoor had said the party would consult legal team to file a case against Sheikh Rasheed for hurling the ‘death threat’ at Bilawal. “We are taking Mr Rasheed’s threat very seriously because this kind of threat was earlier given to Benazir Bhutto by military dictator Gen Musharraf,” he had said, adding that railways minister’s threat could not be ignored because he had ‘links with banned organisations’.

Published in Daily Times, March 20^th 2019.