Daily Times

Opposition parties including Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday blamed the PTI government for the violent clashes in Lahore on Sunday, in which several casualties were suffered by the banned outfit Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

Pakistan has been rocked by violent protests over the past couple of days as supporters of a proscribed organisation have held protests across the country, leading to clashes with police officers.

The clashes have left four police officers martyred and over 600 injured.

Condemning the incidents, PPP Chairperson said that “shedding of human blood and incitement to violence was never the answer to any situation”, recalling that history had taught that “violence begets violence”.

The PPP leader turned his guns towards the government, wondering why it did not take other stakeholders on board in resolving a crisis of this nature.

“The real fight is about fighting against the root of the festering problem, not in just responding to the symptoms. In an apparent jibe at the Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government , Bilawal questioned why has the ‘selected’ government not bothered to implement the National Action Plan, or even discuss arising challenges in parliament?” he questioned. Bilawal condemned the violence and expressed grief over the deaths of the TLP workers and policemen during clashes earlier in the week, which he said occurred due of the government’s “inability to handle the situation peacefully”. “Tendency to foster and coddle pressure groups through instigating ethnic, religious and sectarian hatred to squeeze mainstream national political parties” had begun during the time of General Ziaul Haq, he reiterated. The PPP chairperson said “This dictatorial tool continues to be used even today as an operational lever to reduce the salience and size of mainstream political parties, as more and more ‘Frankensteins’ are being midwifed to curb the democratic aspirations of the people of Pakistan.” Bilawal said it is the state’s responsibility to protect the lives of its people, and lamented that the government’s failure to do so resulted in “unprecedented chaos and anarchy, exposing both the population and state to risks that are incalculable”.