We will ‘imprison Bani Gala’s devil’: Bilawal Bhutto

Islamabad: The joint Opposition will “imprison Bani Gala’s devil” tomorrow by voting him out of office, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Saturday taking a snipe at Prime Minister Imran Khan after the Ramadan moon was sighted in Pakistan.

In a press conference alongside PPP leaders, Bilawal said the Opposition would start its bid to resolve the problems of the people after it gets rid of the prime minister following the voting on the no-confidence motion against the premier.

The PTI effectively lost its majority in the 342-member National Assembly Wednesday when a coalition partner — MQM-P — said its seven lawmakers would vote in support of the Opposition alliance. Before them, several other allies had switched sides.

“He is a person who has lost and now will try to cause unrest outside the parliament […] this is a very serious issue as the parliament represents the people,” the PPP chairman said after PM Imran Khan called on the youth to protest for two days — today and tomorrow — against the “foreign conspiracy” targeting his government.

The Islamabad district administration has imposed section-144 in the Red Zone, banning rallies and gatherings in the area. The administration said anyone found in violation of the restrictions would face action.

The PPP chairman, referring to PM Imran Khan’s call for “peaceful protests”, said the prime minister should neither interfere nor opt for illegal tactics to stay in power.

The lawmaker from Larakan called on the Supreme Court to take action against the premier for calling on his supporters to protest and warned that if the parliament’s affairs were meddled with, then other institutions, including the courts, would face similar issues.

“No one should be allowed to play with the country’s democracy and future,” the PPP chairman said, assuring that his party was “well-aware” of how to protect his members and take them safely to the parliament.

Bilawal said the Opposition had already shown its majority in the National Assembly and only the paperwork remains.

Bilawal called on the prime minister to step down voluntarily and show sportsmanship. “Stop whining, these childish acts will not work now,” he said, referring to the premier’s allegations of a foreign power’s bid to oust his government.

The PPP chairman said lawmakers from the treasury benches approached Opposition leaders and begged them to take back the no-confidence motion against the premier.

“Our response to them was: absolutely not,” he said.

Moving on, Bilawal said he would ask Shahbaz Sharif — once he becomes the new prime minister — to not launch a political vendetta against the prime minister.

“But if you incite violence and opt for an unconstitutional way, we will not spare you and use Article 6 against you,” Bilawal warned PM Imran Khan.