‘Welcome to old Pakistan’, says Bilawal Bhutto

PPP chairman reiterates ‘democracy is the best revenge’

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Saturday that “democracy is the best revenge”.

“Welcome to old Pakistan,” he said while addressing the National Assembly after Imran Khan lost the no-trust motion filed by the joint opposition.

“I would like to congratulate the whole nation and this house, as for the first time in the history of the country, a no-confidence motion has succeeded and we have made history,” said Bilawal.

The PPP chairman recalled what had happened on April 10, adding that on this day, the country approved the 1973 Constitution. “On April 10, 1986, Benazir Bhutto ended her self-imposed exile and arrived in Lahore to launch her struggle against Zia-ul haq,” said Bilawal.

“Today [on] April 10, 2022, we welcome [you] back to the purana (old) Pakistan,” he said. The lawmaker said that he had joined the National Assembly only three to four years ago, adding that whatever he had learned during this time was probably more than he had learnt throughout his life.

“I have a message for the Pakistani youth that they should never give up on their dreams as nothing is impossible. Democracy is the best revenge,” said Bilawal. In his speech earlier in the day, the PPP chairman asked why former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi did not attend the recently held National Security (NSC) meeting?

“Why was there no mention of the no-confidence motion in the minutes of the NSC meeting? An ordinary decision of a demarche being given was made. If a conspiracy was being hatched against Pakistan on March 7 or earlier, then they (PTI) should have asked their allies to not leave them and become part of the conspiracy. They should have told us to not table the no-confidence motion and get involved in a conspiracy. However, they only cared for the conspiracy after losing the majority in the house,” he said while addressing the National Assembly.

“When Bugti of the JWP announced that he would join us on March 27, they (PTI) had realised that their game was over. Now, this fight is not between the PPP and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) or the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) but that of democratic and undemocratic people. This fight is between those who wish to remain apolitical and neutral and those who wish to be biased and want interference. This is the real conspiracy. The real conspiracy is that Imran fears free and fair elections. He knows that he will be defeated by the opposition as was the case in by-elections.

“Imran can never become Bhutto. The reality is that they were selected to end the 18th Amendment and rob the rights of provinces. They created an economic crisis so big that a common Pakistani cannot even provide for Sehri and Iftari for their children in the holy month of Ramazan. The economic crisis that has been created is so big that every Pakistani is in trouble,” Bilawal added.

The PPP leader went on to say that the PTI had made the life of farmers and labourers miserable. “The National Assembly is neither mine nor Imran Khan’s but that of the people,” Bilawal said, adding that the foundation of this building of parliament was laid by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

“Our judiciary, establishment and all of Pakistan have been divided. Time has come for us to unite Pakistan to move towards free and fair elections. We will accept whoever gets the mandate as a result of free and fair elections,” he said.

In his address, former president Asif Ali Zardari said, “The PPP is the only party which has a political university and several members on the treasury benches have passed out from that university. They will understand soon and will come back to the PPP.”

Hanif Samoon is a senior journalist based at Thar/Badin and contributes reports from different districts of Sindh to Minute Mirror. He has won a number of awards, including the Agahi Award twice for his stories on health and child rights. He tweets @HanifSamoon1 and can be reached through email at [email protected]