Staff Reporter Lahore
Just a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan won the trust vote in the National Assembly, Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that it is now prerogative of the Pakistan Democratic Movement to decide on the timing of a no-confidence move against the premier.
“Whatever decision we will make, it will be reached through consensus of the alliance [of a dozen of opposition parties], with the ultimate aim to provide relief to the masses,” the PPP leader said while addressing a joint presser with Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Hamza Shahbaz after visiting the latter’s residence in Model Town, Lahore on Sunday.
“Through Yousuf Raza Gilani’s Senate victory, we have proved that we defeated the government, and parliament is with us.”
Bilawal further said, “There’s also a controversy that there were more votes cast during the confidence vote than the number of total parliamentarians and it should be investigated.
”Bilawal also said, “The people are battling inflation and joblessness only because an incompetent and ineligible government is imposed on them.”
The PDM, Bilawal said, is of the view that such issues will be resolved only after the masses are able to elect their true representatives to the assemblies.
“We are planning to take to streets but we don’t want to leave parliament either as it would allow the ‘puppets’ [PTI government] to be at the helm of affairs.”
To a question regarding the vote of confidence, the PPP chairman said that it was “the premier’s inner fear [of losing his lawmakers] that he opted for a vote of confidence”.
Hinting at the nomination of a joint candidate for Senate chairman, Bilawal said, “We will fight the election jointly.”
On the next step of the PDM, he said, “Maulana Fazlur Rehman will decide the next course of action… I’ve the task of mobilisation and you [the media] will know about our future measures.”
Speaking on the occasion, Hamza said that masses buried the ‘fake tabdeeli’ through their votes in Daska, Naushera and Sindh by-elections. “The nation has already witnessed how the GDP, which was at 5.8 during the Nawaz Sharif’s tenure was pinned down.”
“The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has been unable to do anything than to resort to the politics of revenge,” he added.
During their meeting, the two exchanged views on the existing political situation, while Bilawal congratulated Hamza, the opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly, on the victory of PDM candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani in the March 3 Senate elections.
“We have learnt quite a bit from the last [Senate] chairman election; if we hadn’t, we would have lost the National Assembly secret ballot election,” he said, referring to Gilani’s victory on the coveted Senate seat from Islamabad.
“We won there and it is our full effort that we challenge [the government] together so the win is of the PDM.”
