Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari lashed out at the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) on Saturday, saying that Lahore, the bastion of democracy, has been handed over to sympathisers of terrorists by the incumbent government.

Addressing farmers at the Kissan Convention, Bilawal, who arrived in Lahore earlier this week to hold meetings with members of the PPP’s central and provincial executive councils in a bid to revamp the party in the province, said, “At a time when our armed forces are driving terrorists out of the country, the current government is destroying the economy.”

Highlighting his party’s progressive stance on economy, Bilawal said the country’s development was only possible through the introduction of fair and equitable policies, not by introducing the metro bus system.

He said that the people of Punjab were being punished since their province was run by ‘extremists’, their ‘sympathisers’ and ‘friends of dictators’. Bilawal said that rulers imposed on Punjab were no less than a punishment from God, and that they were neither ‘khadim’(servants) nor ‘ala’(great).

“There can be no reconciliation with those who sympathise with extremists,” he said. Criticising the PML-N government, Bilawal said that most of the government institutions were operating without heads or visionary leadership, leaving a big question mark over the government’s claims of good governance.

“The current government has destroyed the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and they are unable to give salaries to steels mills’ workers,” he said.

Bilawal said that corruption was rampant in the government, whereas the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was nowhere to be seen. He inquired as to when the investigation into Nandipur Power Project case would start.

Commenting on the army’s ongoing operation against terrorists, Bilawal said Zarb-e-Azb was launched seven years ago when operations were launched in Swat and North Waziristan. “Nawaz says that we all are on the same page against terrorism, whereas I say that he is now on my page as he only launched the operation when we lost the future of our country in the APS attack…” otherwise they were holding dialogue with the Taliban, while “I called out at terrorists a long time back”, he said. “I spoke against militancy and extremism when you were holding talks with them.”

Bilawal claimed that the incumbent PML-N government was making it difficult for farmers and the masses to survive via its “anti-farmer policies”.

Amid chants of “Go Nawaz Go”, Bilawal accused the PML-N government of robbing farmers. “Farmers are committing suicides and setting their own crops on fire as they are not being paid the due return of their hard work by the government.” “The times are changing and the farmers and the common people will not allow you to rule if you do not solve their problems,” Bilawal warned the ruling PML-N.

Reminding the peasants and workers about what he said were “farmer friendly” policies of the past PPP governments, Bilawal claimed his party had always paid the country’s farmers well for their produce and provided them power and urea on subsidised rates.

“Farmers are dying of hunger and you are rubbing salt on their wounds by launching projects like metro bus,” said Bilawal.

The PPP chairman also slammed PML-N’s leadership for failing to live up to their promises of eliminating load shedding in two years.

Calling out the Punjab CM, Bilawal said that the former had promised to end load shedding in six months otherwise he would change his name. Bilawal asked what the new name of the CM should be.