Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday said he wants the ‘powers in the country to mainstream victims of terrorism, not banned organisations’, a private TV channel reported.

“It is unfortunate that even after so much blood spilt, the state cannot decide if it is with the martyrs or the terrorists,” Bilawal said while speaking to media in Quetta as he visited the families of those killed in the last week’s Hazarganji blast. “The government has to decide. For how long will they continue with their double standards?” he asked. “No one can fight extremism alone but we have to decide for the future. We need to fight this extremist mindset. When we ask for justice, we are called enemy of the state. When I speak against banned organisations, I’m branded an enemy of the state,” he continued. “Are we enemy of the state or those banned organisations that are killing our children?” he questioned.

The PPP chief said he has a message for the ‘powers’ in the country that if they want to mainstream anyone, it should be the victims of the terrorism, not the banned outfits. He said he is also the son of a martyr and that he will not sit quietly until the terrorism is eliminated from the country. “My entire political career will be for eradicating terrorism so that we can live peacefully in this country,” he said. “We have to fight terrorism together and we have to protect the oppressed,” he added.

Bilawal questioned why the National Action Plan (NAP) has not been implemented. He said the real enemies of the state are those who support militant outfits for their political gains.

He lambasted Prime Minister Imran Khan for not having shown up to condole with the victim families. He further denounced the prime minister over non-implementation of the strategy devised by the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA). “Not a single NACTA meeting has been called,” he lamented. “PPP is a party of martyrs and the state has failed in avenging the blood of leaders lost, such as Benazir Bhutto,” he added, and lambasted the federal government over its focus on sending opposition leaders to jail whereas terrorists in the country continue to walk scot-free.