Staff Report
Islamabad: PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari claimed on Thursday that the “beginning of the end” had started for the incumbent PTI-led government and it was “too late” for anyone to attempt to save the government now. The PPP chairman was addressing a press conference in Islamabad along with Yousuf Raza Gilani, who won the hotly contested Senate general seat from Islamabad to defeat PTI’s Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Wednesday. “Now this puppet spectacle won’t continue, now this drama won’t continue, PM Imran Khan will have to correct his behaviour,” said Bilawal, before adding that it was too late to do so. “It is well and truly the beginning of the end and now no one can save this government.”
Bilawal said the entire “puppet” government had come out yesterday and the way they were making noise and creating drama in attempts to “cover their situation, is in front of you” — referring to the press conference of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi from Wednesday night when he, along with several other PTI leaders, announced the prime minister’s intention to seek a vote of confidence in the National Assembly.
“As far as the PPP is concerned, we accepted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s challenge that if we won these seats, then he would dissolve the assemblies, the National Assembly and announce new elections,” said Bilawal. Bilawal claimed the government was now running away from the challenge to dissolve the assemblies and that the announcement of the vote of confidence was a “new drama”. According to Bilawal, the prime minister was a “coward and fears the elections because he fears the people”.
The PPP chairman addressed the premier and said that at the very least, he should have submitted his resignation if he did not have the strength to announce new elections or dissolve the assemblies. Bilawal said that Gilani’s win over PTI’s Shaikh had “shown the world” that the prime minister had lost the confidence of the National Assembly.
“You have been rejected not only by the members of the opposition and the PDM but also by your own MNAs and allies’ MNAs”.