Party to decide on appointment as FM: Bilawal

Calling Imran Khan’s foreign conspiracy claims a ‘big lie’

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Wednesday that his appointment as a foreign minister would be “something difficult for my party to stomach” as it is the second-largest member of the coalition government.

“However, we need to work together to address the issues of Pakistan,” he said. In an interview with CNN, Bilawal said that the decision of him being appointed as the foreign minister depends on his party and that all members of the coalition should at this point work together to address the economic issues and for electoral reforms.

Replying to a question regarding ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s demand for early, free and fair elections, Bilawal said: “We absolutely want free and fair elections but in order to have free and fair elections we must legislate on electoral reform. “As everybody knows the 2018 elections that [Imran] Khan used to come to power have been widely condemned not only nationally but internationally as rigged and compromised elections that resulted in three years of autocratic, dictatorial rule.”

Calling Khan’s “foreign conspiracy” claims a “big lie”, the PPP chairman said that he [Imran Khan] is the first prime minister in the history of Pakistan to be ousted through democratic, constitutional means and this is the “massive victory for Pakistan’s democracy”.

Meanwhile, former president Asif Ali Zardari claimed that Imran Khan is afraid of lizards.

“I have remained in police stations (jails) for three months […] but on the other hand, Imran Khan is afraid of lizards,” Zardari said during a TV program. Taking a jibe at the PTI chairman, the ex-president said Khan was detained for eight hours – in 2007 during the lawyer’s movement – and over there, it came to light that he was afraid of lizards.

“If Imran Khan is put in jail, it will be an enormous problem for this Gora (white) Sahab,” he added.