LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto on Wednesday said that he would raise the issue of partisan conduct of Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser in the upcoming All Parties Conference (APC) of the opposition parties.
"We want that the parliament should act as it should be in a parliamentary system. It should not give an impression of the meeting of PTI. The conduct of Speaker has become unbearable and we would raise this point in the APC," he said.
Addressing a press conference at the Bilawal House, here, he said he would contact PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif soon to decide the date for the APC. He said he would stress the point of adopting a strategy to deal with Covid-19 based upon the advice of medical practitioners in the APC. Also, he added, his party would seek a consensus of all the opposition parties against the government's intrigues on the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award and the 18th amendment. The federation has not transferred Rs 229 billion to Sindh and Rs483 billion to Punjab because of its inefficiency, adding that the amount could be used to improve health system in provinces.
He said the Auditor General report has disclosed Rs 270 billion corruption of the PTI government in one year. He said the present set up has failed to provide a leadership able to deal with the pandemic of Coronavirus. He said the PPP would also demand a raise in salaries and pensions of government employees in the budget through the APC.
Bilawal has once again challenged Prime Minister Imran Khan to hold a debate with him either in the National Assembly or the electronic media. He criticized Prime Minister Imran Khan for addressing the parliament in the absence of opposition from the benches. "Imran Khan is not interested in becoming the prime minister of Pakistan. He wants to be a prime minister of PTI Twitter and Facebook pages. We need a prime minister for the whole of Pakistan who must have a clear understanding of how to overcome Coronavirus and how to ensure food security in the country," he stressed.
He said Prime Minister Khan should make his stance clear on the attack on Army Public School, Operation Zarb-e-Azb, and Operation Swat if he calls Osama Bin Laden a martyr.
He questioned the claim of a successful foreign policy by the prime minister and pointed out that he had failed in evolving a consensus on Kashmir issue within the country. "Imran was the first prime minister who said that Kashmir issue would be solved with the election victory of Modi."
He criticized the government policy towards Covid-19, saying that the government has cut the health budget to extend development schemes of the electables and allies of the government. The prime minister has even not bothered to call on medical doctors, nurses and labourers while claiming his sympathies for them. He said the budget document suggests that the poor masses were never a priority of the government.
He said the prime minister was attacking the constitution in his speeches and wanted to bring back One Unit system which reflects his dictatorial approach. He always speaks about political victimization and both Khurshid Shah and Mir Shakil-ur-Rehman are behind bars without any reference. On the other hand, those ministers have been set free against whom references have been filed. He said the government was aiming at murdering Asif Zardari while in confinement as no medicine was allowed to him and the PPP had no option but to approach the court of law. A similar treatment was extended to Nawaz Sharif when he was in jail, he added.
He vowed to make no compromise on the supremacy of the constitution come what may, adding that the PPP would keep giving tough time to the government within and outside the parliament. He said the PPP was not asking for a National Reconciliation Order (NRO), rather it is ready to face the cases in courts.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020