Karachi, May 15, 2023 (PPI-OT): Foreign Minister of Pakistan and Chairman Pakistan People’s Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing the joint session of the Parliament on Monday said that the unprecedented events of May 9th including the manner in which the GHQ and Jinnah House were attacked including infrastructure all over the country along with public properties are deplorable. He said that history will always remember that when Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was martyred, a jiyala of the Party from Lahore set himself on fire in protest but did not harm the state’s property. When Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto arrived in Lahore in 1986 post exile, the killer of the Quaid-e-Awam was alive and in the President House. Three million people came to welcome their leader, and no political party has been able to hold such a mammoth, political gathering again in the country’s history. Had Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto directed the people towards the killer of Shaheed Quaid-e-Awam, Shaheed Shahnawaz Bhutto and the tormenter of the Mother of Democracy, Begum Nusrat Bhutto and the workers who resided in Islamabad, what would the conclusion be?
“I have shouldered the coffin of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for the sake of the country and its democracy”, Chairman FM Bilawal said. The slogans raised on that day were met with President Zardari’s pledge of ‘Pakistan Khappay’. I raised the slogan of ‘Democracy is the best revenge’ after burying my mother. We could have directed the people to Musharraf, the killer of the people’s leader even then. Had President Zardari not raised the slogan for unity, had we sought vengeance, would Pakistan have survived? Would we be sitting in this Assembly today?
A man who during his tenure, would not tire of singing NAB’s praises, and took sadistic pleasure in tormenting his political opponents, having Nawaz Sharif and his daughter be arrested, along with the then leader of the opposition, who was a cancer patient. Khan’s tactics included blackmailing the Chairman NAB, and airing clips of a woman on television as a means of threatening the former, all while holding her hostage in the PM House himself. He wanted to compel the Chairman NAB to arrest President Zardari and Faryal Talpur, the latter was hospitalised in Islamabad. On the day before Eid, which fell around the August 2019 date on which India attacked Kashmir, I was on my way to Kashmir to offer Eid prayers with my Kashmiri brethren as a show of solidarity. I was informed that Imran Khan changed the MS of the hospital on the day before Eid, appointed someone else and had Faryal Talpur be arrested and taken to prison. These were the petty tactics of the man.
President Zardari had warned them of the consequences of their actions. Imran Khan was warned by the opposition and those within his own cabinet, especially when Imran Khan was conspiring against the women of his opponents’ households. The interior minister of the time in a cabinet meeting had warned Imran Khan that they too would be in the opposition someday. Today, Imran Khan is criticising the very same NAB that he was so fond of. Had someone from our side been involved in such a case, we would be put behind bars without a second thought. He says that the former first lady was a trustee, hence is innocent. Maryam Nawaz Sharif and Faryal Talpur were both trustees. Today, Imran Khan is benefitting from the same NAB amendments that we had brought forth when in the opposition, the very same that Imran had termed ‘a plea for NRO’. When in power, they would distance themselves from NAB claiming that it is an independent institution. Sharjeel Memon was arrested from within the court premises during Khan’s tenure, Speaker of the Sindh Assembly was arrested as his house was attacked.
In response to Imran Khan’s arrest, the PTI did not call for peaceful protests nor political gatherings. It decided to opt for a violent response instead. It chose to act as a terrorist organisation rather than a political party. When Rana Sanaullah was accused of possessing kilogrammes’ worth of heroine, Justice Bandial should have opened his court in the middle of the night and demanded for Sanaullah to be presented in court in the same manner. Rana Sanaullah did not enjoy the same opportunity.
The response to Imran Khan barely even spending a night in jail was violence. They raised weapons against the state. This is a time when the state needs to give a united response. It is unfortunate that while solidarity was shown with Imran Khan from the Islamabad High Court to the Supreme Court, none was showed to the Jinnah House in Lahore or the GHQ. Instead of greeting the culprit with a ‘Nice to see you’, the court should have condemned militant organisation and terrorism. It should have given Imran Khan the opportunity to choose between being a terrorist organisation or a political party. The resulting decision should have been based on his answer. They have become habitual of attacking every institution. It is the sole political party that has attacked each institution, having started with the Parliament in 2014. It is on record that allies were manipulated by using the ISI. This demanded a suo-motu notice. General Faiz and Imran Khan should have been called to the court and questioned. They only think of democracy once we are done restoring it.
If they were so adamant on taking suo-motu notices, they should have done so on the manner in which the country was run for four years, the media faced bans and the rights of the provinces were usurped. When we brought forth the no-confidence, it was met by an abrogation of the Constitution. Neither did we take any action as the government, nor did the courts. When Punjab is concerned, decisions are made overnight. We roamed the corridors of the court for a month to exercise our right of the no-confidence. The facilitators of Imran Khan in different institutions then too were looking to dissolve the Assembly so that elections could be held. The conspiracy continued despite their failure on the night of the no-confidence. When we were looking for ways to aid the country’s economy on May 25th, they were trying to sabotage our deal with the IMF.
The courts did nothing as the city of Islamabad was set ablaze on May 25th as the conspiracy continued. Then they stole the Punjab government through an unconstitutional decision and hoped to hold elections forcefully. As per our principles, we are not against elections. We cannot combat them with the NAB, but through elections. We have repeatedly defeated him, and we can do so now. However, we are not willing to be a part of any conspiracy. The ones who are running a one-man show in their institutions wish for one to be run in the country overall. A Party that has combatted Dictators Zia and Musharraf and their selected rule, will defeat this conspiracy and save the country’s democracy.
The country’s issue is not whether Imran Khan has used the washroom or not, but that the people of the nation are suffering through difficult economic times. They care not for who sits on the seat of the PM but who helps solve their problems. This is PTI’s last opportunity to decide whether it wishes to be a political party or not. We are asked why the elections did not take place. They should answer this question themselves. The one responsible for the political instability is not our institution but the one neighbouring us. When they rewrite our Constitution and the law as per their whims, then what would we have if not for instability? Instead of condemning the attackers of the Jinnah House and the GHQ, and taking a suo-moto action against them, the history will remember that our Chief Justice reacted by saying ‘Good to see you’.
It is ultimately our responsibility to redirect the system and the democracy towards the correct path. All institutions should work within their constitutional domains for the betterment of the country. We believe that the court is done with its stint on the matter and now a plethora of cases are pending. The Chief Justice may be able to salvage at least some of his legacy by completing the pending cases if nothing else. If he meddles in politics and continues to give relief to Imran Khan, a practice that he has been following ever since he was a judge and facilitated Khan in the BRT project among other cases including those related to electoral rigging, then the system will not be able to function.
Chairman Bilawal concluded by reiterating the notion of ‘Pakistan Khappay’, and resolving to do whatever it takes to help the country and its people emerge from the crises they face.
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