Asif Ali Zardari, co-chairman of Pakistan People’s Party called on supporters to “march towards Islamabad” and send the government back home.
Former President expressed strong concerns in an address on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the death of PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s 40th death anniversary, in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, on Thursday.
“Before the elections, I told you that they want to repeal the 18th Amendment,” Zardari said. “That’s why they are lodging cases against us. At the time, some friends believed me and some people made fun.
“Now you have seen that the ‘selected’ prime minister’s [bubble] has burst. He said he does not have funds. If you can’t collect funds through the FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) then leave.
“He (the prime minister) has sent Pakistan 50 years back. They don’t care about the poor. We can’t give them more time; we have to march to Islamabad for the sake of the country.”
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari critiqued Pakistan’s judicial system for not serving justice in the “judicial murder” of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto even after four decades.
“Today is the 40th year of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s judicial murder,” he said. “This is a tragic chapter of history. This day is asking a question from this country: why was the protector of the poor public murdered? He opened the way for 90,000 prisoners to return home, he turned this country into an atomic power. Who signed his death warrant? That question is still awaiting an answer.
“The [former] president submitted a request eight years ago that we should get answers for the murder of our founder. Why do the scales of justice tip one side when it comes to us [Bhuttos]?”
Bilawal continued to attack the government in his speech, asking the Prime Minister never to make the mistake of repealing the 18th Amendment.
“Those who are sitting in the Prime Minister’s Office have become a symbol of arrogance,” he said. “Those who are parading the idea of Naya Pakistan should first understand the foundations of the old Pakistan.”
“You can’t repeal the 18th Amendment. I am warning you, if you try to repeal it, I will… end your [government],” he concluded
Bilawal also criticized the government’s economic performance: “Since PTI has come to power, they have done nothing with sincerity, except lying. There is a tsunami of inflation. Everything is expensive.
“People are being rendered homeless due to encroachment measures. Someone tell them that the economy is not run on charity or magic. When we try to show them the mirror, they start NAB-gardi,” he added.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry expressed his reservations about Zardari’s plans for a march, saying that “if the PPP respects the courts then why and against whom has it announced the march?”
“It would be better if they march against their own corruption,” he advised, adding that “had Bhutto sahib been alive today, he would have also launched a protest march against this PPP’s corruption.”
The minister went on to claim that the PPP of today has no resemblance to the PPP of the Bhutto era.
“The extent of this PPP’s relation to Zulfiqar Bhutto is similar to PML-N’s relation to Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” he said. “For how long will the keep on selling their relation with Bhutto and Benazir’s name?”
Chaudhry stated clearly that “speeches, clamour and threats would not save them from accountability, adding that “you can take to the streets but then the public would itself settles scores with you.”