ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed that President Dr Arif Alvi would face multiple cases for violating the Constitution of Pakistan.

“I think there will be two cases against President Arif Alvi for violating the Constitution; one for dissolving the National Assembly after the vote of no confidence against then prime minister Imran Khan and another for not summoning the inaugural session of the 16th National Assembly as required by the Constitution,” Bilawal expressed these views while speaking to the media on Tuesday outside the Supreme Court after hearing of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto presidential reference.

Bilawal accused the president of abrogating the Constitution twice and said that he is not fulfilling his duty and we would replace him (President Alvi) through election.

He claimed that President Alvi was not suitable for the office as he had completed his tenure and violated the Constitution in the past too. “The president was again violating not only his oath but also the Constitution,” he added.

Responding to questions, he said that Asif Ali Zardari would himself shortlist the governors for the provinces after he is elected as President of Pakistan. However, the process has not yet begun, he said.

Bilawal said that we are grateful to the Sunni Ittehad Council and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as they allowed Maryam Nawaz and Murad Ali Shah to be elected as the chief ministers of their respective provinces unopposed.

He said that Shehbaz Sharif is now on his way to unanimously being elected as the prime minister, and the credit goes to the two parties mentioned.

He said that the people of Sindh have given a historic mandate to the PPP for its performance in the province. He said that the PPP’s aim was to release all political prisoners after coming to power, but the party is now in the position to propose this as an advice.

Responding to another question, Bilawal said that the PPP did not think only for itself. It could have chosen to remain nonchalant to the entire situation, as the onus was not on the PPP to form the government owed to the numbers. He said that the country’s economy, democracy, stability, and federation were all at stake, which compelled the PPP to make a decision.

He said, “The PPP decided to engage with other parties for formation of government. The other party in this case, the Sunni Ittehad Council did not approach the PPP for votes to begin with. They cannot now raise objections over someone else forming the government, as they made no efforts to do so themselves.

They made the decision to not engage with us themselves. We were then left with the option to engage with the party that approached us. The PPP will continue to provide its input through the parliamentary system.”

Answering another question, Bilawal said that the PPP is of the view that only more and more democracy is the solution to the problems of the people. He said that the process of reconciliation is vital, but difficult to carry out. He said that at the time of the Charter of Democracy (CoD), both parties (PPP and PML-N) accepted their shortcomings and derived a future course of action.

He said that the PTI’s plight is that it refuses to accept its own mistakes and does not believe in the country’s Constitution, democracy, and system. However, till date, the PTI refuses to admit its own faults, he said.

Answering another question, Bilawal said, “If we wish for the judiciary and the establishment including other institutions to work within their domains, it is the politicians of the country that first need to understand the importance of engaging within their political boundaries. Only in this manner can we avoid incidents such as May 9 among others. Otherwise, we cannot expect our judiciary, media or any other institution to stay within their limits. Politicians would also need to decide to respect each other.

When politicians do not respect each other, and have no regard for basic manners, they should not expect any other institution to respect them.” Bilawal said this case was motivated by bias and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was judicially murdered.

They are proving that there was no judicial process or trial, but Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s assassination. Evidences are being presented before the court rapidly, he said. “We hope that justice will be served at last, and that the blot on the institutions due to this decision will be washed,” the PPP chairman said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024