Opposition united against government: Bilawal Bhutto

Islamabad: Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari hosted a dinner in honour of the opposition parliamentarians at the banquet hall of the Senate of Pakistan on Wednesday evening attended by the members National Assembly and the Senate.

The combined opposition in the parliament decided to form a steering committee of the opposition comprised of the members of all the opposition parties in the Parliament.

This steering committee will take all the decisions on behalf of the opposition in the parliament. The opposition also chalked out a unanimous strategy to negotiate with the government.

Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing the event thanked the opposition leader, Shahbaz Sharif for uniting the opposition in the Parliament. Chairman Bilawal said that the government’s economic policies are severely hurting the people of Pakistan and sugar has become expensive than the petrol. This is an expensive Pakistan and a common man is yearning for the old Pakistan.

He said that due to joint efforts of the opposition the government had to call off the joint session of the parliament which was scheduled for 11 November. Due to the opposition’s contacts with the government’s allies, the government had to retreat and cancel the joint session. He said that only the parliament is the forum using which we can defeat Imran Khan and his policies.

Later on, talking to journalists Chairman Bilawal said that the joint opposition will collectively contact the government, not separately. Responding to a question, he said that the PPP has taken the country out of economic problems before and has been the solution to economic plight. As far as the opposition alliance in the parliament is concerned, it has always been intact in the parliament. The PPP has always been of the view that we must not leave the space that is the parliament, instead use this space. We can defeat the government in the parliament and within the system. Everyone can see that the government’s reverse counting has started.

About economy, he said that the PPP has a solution to the economic problems. The people are troubled due to price-hike, unemployment and poverty. In the 1970s, the PPP showed that when the country was divided into two and the economy was down, we made the economy stand on its feet due to pro-people economic policies. When we came to power in 2008, inflation, unemployment and poverty were at the highest level and wheat, sugar and rice were being imported. When we left, we were exporting these essential commodities and the inflation was reduced to half.

Responding a question, he said that the prime minister has retreated from calling the joint session off. This is insult of president of Pakistan. This shows that our strategy to contact the government’s allies and convince them of our perspective on the EVM, policy of unilateral reforms and the government’s efforts to harm the electoral process worked. We thank all the opposition parties’ members that were present. We are getting good results from the unity of the opposition in the parliament. The government was defeated yesterday and today the government had to run away from the joint session. We will be able to stop the wrong policies of the government such as making the ECP controversial and undemocratic ways. The “favourite” being before the Supreme Court was a change. Responding to a question, he said that the terrorists who were involved in the APS incident must be punished, while some have been punished, the terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan was given NRO by Imran Khan and sent abroad. The way the government has addressed this issue is controversial. When we decided to negotiate during the PPP government, we consulted the parliament and made the people aware of the issue. We decided to fight the terrorist and were able to form consensus in the country. You cannot send your military commanders to war or to negotiate peace without creating political consensus and cover which they require.