Daily Times

Hours after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) put Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Faryal Talpur under house arrest, party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said his party’s leadership was jailed in order to divert the attention of the masses from the ‘anti-people’ budget presented in the National Assembly.

“The government has arrested the political leaders to divert your [masses] attention from its economic terrorism… to get its anti-people budget approved from parliament,” Bilawal told a press conference at the Zardari House in Islamabad on Friday.

While former president Asif Ali Zardari was arrested on Monday, Talpur, another prime accused in the fake bank accounts case, was taken into custody after the Islamabad High Court cancelled her bail earlier in the day.

“[Both] Asif Ali Zardari and Faryal Talpur were arrested without any conviction,” he claimed. “Zardari was arrested the day the government released the Economic Survey 2019, which highlighted PTI’s economic performance… the worst in history.”

PPP chief says no difference between governments of Pervez Musharraf and Imran Khan

Bilawal said he was in touch with opposition parties as well as government allies, like Akhtar Mengal, to oppose the budgets in the assemblies. “This budget would not be legal if it is passed without issuing the production orders of arrested lawmakers,” he said.

Responding to a question about the ongoing case, the PPP chairman said former chief justice of Pakistan Justice (r) Saqib Nisar had declared him innocent and even the NAB had not accused him. Yet, he added, the corruption watchdog could arrest him.

He also called for investigating the leaked videos of NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, saying it was done by the ruling party to pressurise him.

He also spoke on the ongoing case against Justice Qazi Faez Isa in the Supreme Judicial Council, and alleged that the government was hatching conspiracies to remove the honourable judges of the apex court.

“There is no difference between the government of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf and PTI… both the regimes curtailed media freedom and attempted to bring judiciary under control,” the PPP chairman said. “Democratic leaders are being arrested and incarcerated as opposed to members of banned outfits.”

The PPP leader said he wanted the government to complete its tenure, however, a future course of action would be decided in the forthcoming all parties’ conference.