PPP hopes to get justice: Bilawal Bhutto

Liaquat Ali

Islamabad: Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Monday that the PPP hopes to get justice in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto case.

“We think that it is an opportunity to correct history. Its legal precedent was never mentioned in any case. The way this verdict was reached on the behest of a dictator is being repeated again and again. We also have the opportunity to correct our future course and ensure that such doors are closed forever. We hope that that we will get justice and Justice Qazi Faez Isa and his brother judges will give a decision according to the law,” he said while talking to the media after attending a hearing of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto reference in the Supreme Court accompanied by his aunt, Sanam Bhutto and sister Aseefa Bhutto Zardari.

Responding to questions by the journalists, Chairman Bilawal said that we desired that the case should have been heard regularly instead of being adjourned till after the elections. We hope that the case will be decided after the elections. The elections are being held on 8 February even if the United Nations passes a contradicting resolution as I have said earlier.

The PPP has recently won the local bodies elections in Karachi and Hyderabad. When the PTI was in power, the PPP defeated Imran Khan and the PTI from Multan and Karachi in the by-elections. We also defeated PML-N in the by-election in Karachi. This will be the very first time when the PPP will head not only the local government in Karachi but also the provincial government along the federal government. Hence, we will be able to perform more efficiently in Karachi. We are contesting against every party and are the only party which has presented a 10-point economic agenda which can deal with the poverty, inflation and unemployment.

Replying to another question, Chairman Bilawal said that the “cricket bat” was never an election symbol and it was conjured to facilitate Imran Khan and give him undue favour in the elections. It was given to the PTI because the Pakistani people take interest in cricket. It is a fact that our symbol “sword” was snatched and since then we are contesting on the “arrow” as our election symbol.

The imprisonment of Imran Khan has nothing to do with the elections. If he is innocent, he should be released and if he has done something wrong then should be in prison. When Imran Khan used to initiate false and concocted cases against us, he used to say that the institutions are free and we should approach them. What Imran Khan did in Pakistani politics is getting back to him. We should create an environment where politicians can do politics. Imran Khan will have to repent, and then we will be able to create a better environment.

We do not think that our judicial system is so transparent that a death sentence can be given to anyone. The PPP holds a principled and ideological stance against death sentence. Khan used to say that if 200 people are hanged publicly, then the system will be corrected. Khan has to bring a change in his own views about this. The impression that what is being done to a particular political party now has not happened before is wrong. The situation earlier was worse than it is now. Imran Khan used to label any effort of reconciliation a “muk muka” among the political parties. The hue and cry about the rejection of nomination is unfounded because since 1988, this number of rejections is average.

The most nomination forms were rejected in 2013 elections when Imran Khan was launched. We want to improve the politics, economy and society and we have to work together. All the stakeholders should themselves identify their mistakes and correct them. Khan wants to be the sole person playing in the field and does not wish to let others play. He does not want democracy and wishes to create a fascist state. All the political parties should learn from history so that the future of the coming generations is better. There is a margin of improvement with regard to the level playing field in every successive election. The Pakistan Peoples Party believes in the people and we are looking towards them.