KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said the party would withhold its support for the PML-N-led government until its concerns, including over the upcoming Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections, were addressed.
Speaking to journalists at Parliament House, Bilawal questioned whether such treatment was appropriate for an ally, whether in the context of the AJK elections or the political agreements the PPP had reached with the PML-N before electing the prime minister.
He said the PPP raised issues with the government in every budget for the sake of Pakistan and the provinces, asking whether the PML-N was addressing any of those concerns.
“My party has decided that PPP’s cooperation, coordination and legislation with the PML-N on general issues cannot continue until our legitimate concerns are addressed,” he warned.
The presser came moments after the government ally, Bilawal, met Mahmood Khan Achakzai, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, opposition leader of the Senate, at the Parliament House.
PML-N and PPP have been at loggerheads ever since the start of the elections in AJK, with the latter repeatedly targeting its ally and saying that they had resorted to rigging in the polls.
Bilawal also noted that PPP members would not vote for the government’s legislation if their reservations were not addressed. However, he clarified that the party could extend cooperation where a matter of national importance was involved.
Responding to a question, Bilawal said the government had not contacted the PPP or its parliamentary committee regarding its objections, adding that political parties should sit together and resolve their differences through dialogue. He also said he was not focused on any in-house change and wanted Parliament to play its constitutional role.
He clarified that he had cited the 26th and 27th constitutional amendments in his earlier comments, adding that no specific point concerning any proposed amendment had yet been placed before him.
“If a point is presented, we will discuss it in the national interest,” he said.
Bilawal strongly criticised the conduct of the recent AJK elections, alleging that the PPP was defeated through rigging in several areas.
He said the PPP had raised its concerns ahead of the elections and had called for adequate security. He referred to an attack on a candidate in Muzaffarabad and alleged that two PPP workers were killed during the Mirpur phase of the election.
Bilawal also alleged that the PPP government in Poonch was defeated through rigging and criticised the division of the election into six phases, saying the electoral process had still not been completed.
“If the PML-N wanted such a controversial election, then congratulations to them,” Bilawal said.
He argued that a disputed government would not be able to resolve Kashmir’s problems and said an administration backed by a genuine public mandate was necessary. Bilawal questioned whether such treatment could be given to coalition partners, saying PPP members had remained part of Parliament despite being subjected to violence. He said it would be difficult for him to convince PPP members in AJK to agree to power-sharing arrangements following what happened during the elections. –Agencies
