ISLAMABAD: Top opposition leaders of the opposition – Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari – Tuesday made headlines by making conflicting statements on the ouster of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
While PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz said that the ouster of PTI government is just a matter of days, Bilawal said that his party would not support any unconstitutional step to remove the government.
Talking to media persons, Maryam said that the performance of the government is very poor. “Inflation, unemployment, the Murree tragedy, what more issues does one talk about,” she added.
Maryam said that Prime Minister Imran Khan is in power and yet, his own members do not respect him. She said that several people lost their lives due to government’s incompetence in Murree and now people can no longer tolerate this government even for a day.
Talking about claims of PTI that four leaders of PML-N had talked about removing Nawaz Sharif from leadership of the party, Maryam said that the PML-N is still intact despite repeated trials and hardships.
On the contrary, Bilawal trashed any undemocratic move to dislodge PTI-led government, Chairman of PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that no-confidence motion is the only option the opposition parties have to dislodge the government.
“If the PDM reconsiders it stance on resignations [from assemblies] and adopt our viewpoint in this regard, we can certainly work together for the cause,” said the PPP chief in a statement issued here.
Bilawal said that all opposition parties will have to play role.
“We have to dislodge the government, no matter the number of marches,” he said and added that PPP’s
reservations regarding the prices of essential commodities being multiplied due to the mini-budget has been proved correct.
“Pakistan had already been facing an economic crisis before the mini-budget, which has now led to historic price hike, unemployment and poverty. The people are being crushed under this burden,” he said.
The PPP leader that his party has already decided that it will take to the streets against this incapable government and will start the long march from Karachi on 27 February.
“However, we can never resort to undemocratic practices. My demand from the first day was to bring a no-confidence motion against this government. The government should be
dislodged through democratic means. We will pass through the constituencies of their MNAs and allies and show them the demand of the people, which is to be liberated from the tyranny of this new Pakistan,” he added.
“Whenever the PPP has launched a long march against the
government, the latter has been harmed. The bill regarding the State Bank of Pakistan was bulldozed at around midnight, counting was not done, our amendments were not heard. This was the biggest economic attack on the country in its history,” he said.
He further stated that after this legislation, the State Bank is not answerable to the government, parliament, judiciary and the people. Rather, he asserted, it will be run on the dictation of international financial institutions.
“The account of our defence budget will be in the State Bank and the government, parliament or the judiciary will have no control over it,” he said, adding that the country’s defence expenditure would be for the world to see and the nuclear programme will be threatened.
“This government has attacked our economic sovereignty and democratic liberties,” he maintained.
Regarding the presidential system, Bilawal said that history is witness to the fact that our country has been dismembered under this system.
The Chairman PPP said that the constitution of the Quaid-e-Awam has given a federal, democratic and parliamentary Islamic republic to the nation.
“There is no space for a presidential system in the constitution. Talking about the presidential system is an effort to distract the people from the price-hike, unemployment, poverty and agricultural crisis. PPP has always maintained the respect of the country in the international community,” he concluded.
