Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the government is making those legislations controversial which could have been passed easily.

He said that the government has undemocratic behaviour and opposition was censored in the National Assembly. The government is trying to get dictatorial authority in the name of FATF and the bills which have been passed on Thursday from the Senate and the National Assembly are not controversial. “The government included PPP’s amendments in those bills.”

Addressing a press conference at Zardari House Islamabad on Thursday, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the government in the garb of FATF wanted to bring a legislation through which it could make any citizen a missing person for six months. The PPP could not allow this because our stance has been for democracy and basic human rights. The government wanted to get dictatorial powers using the backdoor but PPP will never allow it to happen.

He said that the government is also trying to blend FATF legislation with the legislation for NAB. They are two different issues. The business community had met the army chief and the government and their narrative was that NAB and business cannot go together. In this regard, President Asif Ali Zardari had said long ago that NAB and economy cannot go together.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that after the verdict by the Supreme Court judge Justice Baqar, NAB and democracy cannot go together. He said that the government is trying to provide relief to Kulbhushan Jadhav. Imran Khan was supposed to become ambassador for Kashmir but he has become the counsel for Kulbhushan Jadhav and is trying to give him relief through the backdoor.

He said that Imran Khan gave NRO to himself, his sister and all his friends. He gave NRO to every case of mega corruption under his government, from BRT Project to Malam Jabba and from sugar to wheat scandals. He said that the wife of Justice Qazi Faez Isa is called by FBR and asked to provide her money trail. Imran Khan has given NRO via amnesties and he also gave NRO to his sister Aleema Khan’s corruption. Every advisor and special assistant should also be asked to give their money trail. There has been no answer from the government about the foreign funding case. The puppet prime minister and his puppet ministers are trying to hide behind the stay order. NAB will have to adopt the same process for PTI which it has adopted for opposition.

Bilawal said that the PTI government is trying to impose a ban on knowledge in the name of Islam. “The Punjab government has passed a resolution in this regard. Islam asks all of us to acquire knowledge; we cannot ban books in the name of Islam. Punjab Assembly should review its resolution.” He said that this government is also after social media and wants to ban social media and this kind of censorship is not in the interest of Pakistan. “It is unfortunate that the government is imposing censorship in the Senate and the National Assembly.”