ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari claimed that individuals who had benefited from rigged elections in the past were now whining in the house about the “neutrality” of institutions, in a thinly veiled allusion to the previous PTI government.
The PPP scion further explained in his speech to the National Assembly, “They know that undemocratic parties like theirs would otherwise not be granted any leverage.
He continued, “This is why they are conducting a movement now to have our institutions play a contentious role rather than a neutral and legal one.
Bilawal criticized assembly procedures under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), claiming that despite their small number, the opposition in the NA was given the chance to speak and voice their concerns on things like the elections for the Sindh local body.
It would have been more “proper,” he continued, to discuss the matter in the Sindh Assembly.
According to the minister, the PPP has spent three generations fighting for democracy, free and fair elections, and economic challenges.
He cited instances of “violence” under leaders like Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharaf in support of his claim that the party has “bravely battled every tyrant.”
“Despite rigging, the PPP had the chance to rule. To stop the party of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, there has always been rigging in our country, he said.
According to him, parties, politicians, and “puppets” in Sindh helped autocratic rule emerge in the hope that institutions wouldn’t be impartial, much like Imran Khan had done.
“These people began to fear when our institutions, including the Election Commission, the judiciary, and other institutions, started to become impartial. This is due to the fact that they were aware that their bail would be revoked in the event that fair elections and impartial institutions were maintained, the speaker stated.
He added that the opposition parties were aware that they won the 2018 election in a “rigged” manner.
Bilawal called out an opposition figure and claimed that the only reason he was able to run in the elections was that PPP leader Abid Bhayo’s brother was being held in prison in Shikarpur.
