KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari warned on Monday that his party could topple Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government within seconds if Asif Ali Zardari permitted.
Hitting hard on the incumbent government over the federal cabinet’s decision to place JIT-accused persons in fake accounts case on the Exit Control List, Bilawal laughed off PTI’s attempt to oust Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and impose governor’s rule in the province.
“We knew they lack political acumen but now we can see that their maths is weak as well,” he told the media in Karachi. “We [PPP] have 99 MPAs in the Sindh Assembly. They will need to break about 49 to 50 MPAs to impose governor’s rule.”
He said that the federal government could collapse any time as they have a meagre lead of 17 MNAs. We can topple their [PTI] government and send them to jail if only Zardari permits us to do so.” Bilawal also rejected the JIT report and termed it a work of ‘fiction’. He said it was obvious the government was behind the report. “The report was seen by the government before it was submitted to the Supreme Court. Their role is being exposed.”
He added, “We have pressing issues such as terrorism yet the government is busy on a fake JIT report. Their target is Sindh government. Those who do not want Sindh to prosper want to change the chief minister.”
He asked reporters to attest whether there had been any report of corruption committed by him through PPP’s tenures in centre and province. “We will fight the cases in courts. Fake cases had been lodged against Zardari in the past as well. He was acquitted then, he will be acquitted again.”
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court (SC) has directed the federal cabinet to reconsider the list of 172 individuals – named in the JIT report – who were placed on the ECL after earlier expressing displeasure over the act as the court resumed the hearing of the fake accounts case.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had summoned State Minister for Interior Shehryar Afridi after the attorney general failed to give a satisfactory answer and also sought the approved summary by the cabinet regarding the ECL list. The bench had given Zardari and Talpur one week to submit a reply over the JIT report.
Published in Daily Times, January 1st 2019