Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Wednesday stuck to his guns on the issue of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), asserting that the PPP is not answerable to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif or his daughter Maryam Nawaz.

“We are not answerable to Maryam or Mian Sahab. We are answerable to the PPP and the PPP’s workers and we think the real joy will be in doing politics together with the PPP’s workers,” he said while addressing a press conference in Badin. “My stance remains unchanged,” he said as a reporter asked him about Maryam’s recent comments that the PPP had not responded to the show cause notice sent to it.

The PPP chairman acknowledged that he had torn the show cause notice. He said that Shehbaz Sharif is the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and the PML-N president, thus the PPP will consider only his stance and statements to be official PML-N policy and conduct its politics according to that. He added that the PPP respects Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the two parties have had a ‘good relationship and contact’. “However, the PPP is engaging in politics based on its vision, principles, with respect and we don’t change our stance,” he further said. “Instead of opposing the PPP, our friends in the opposition should target the government,” he added.

Bilawal took a jibe at the PML-N, who had formed government in the year 1991, and said that the ‘selected’ government of that time had imposed an ‘illegal’ water accord on the Sindh government. “[Unlike the past] we will not tolerate anyone stealing water from Sindh,” he said, and added that water problems affect everyone and it is an issue that affects the future too.

Bilawal also criticised the PTI-led government’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and said that the PPP will ‘condemn the deal at all forums’ as it does not want to disappoint the masses. He also condemned the attack on an Islamabad-based journalist a day ago and said that journalists in Sindh are also being targeted for speaking the truth. “We demand the highest level of investigation into the attack on journalists,” said Bilawal.

In response to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s concern about the worsening law and order situation in Sindh, Bilawal said that the law and order situation in Sindh has improved, a move which has been made possible with the help of police. “Sindh police have the full potential to restore peace in the province,” he said. “The interior minister [Sheikh Rasheed] is ready to give a lecture about another province but is not ready to protect journalists in Islamabad,” he said.

Separately, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari said that ‘like-minded’ people should not use the name of PDM without PPP which is the party that has laid the foundation of this platform. He said that PPP as a political party believes in mutual respect in politics and any defamatory attitude is intolerable.

In a statement, Bukhari said that PML-N and JUI’s bipartisanship is hurting democratic forces. He said that the formation of PDM is based on the vision of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. “Maulana Fazlur Rehman should tell us that who is benefitting from the criticism of PPP which is the leading party in the PDM?” he asked. Bukhari said that on one hand, Shehbaz Sharif invites the PPP to dinner and on the other hand, his party’s second-tier leadership hurls accusations at the same party. He said that the PPP is right to think that the people using the name of PDM are escaping from the plan devised to get rid of the incumbent regime and are also avoiding from taking part in the elections.