Bilawal warns against ‘any new experiment’, demands polls on time

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday warned against ‘any new experiment’ on people of Pakistan and demanded elections within the constitutional limit of 90 days, ARY News reported.

Speaking to journalists in Karachi, the former foreign minister asked ‘people who want to impose puppets onto the country’ that stop conducting such experiments on people of Pakistan and let them make their own decisions.

“If the people of Pakistan choose Shehbaz Sharif or Nawaz Sharif then we should all accept it. If the people choose PPP, then all should accept it. And if the people choose PTI, then we will have to accept it,” he added.

Referring to general elections, Bilawal Bhutto stated that the polls should be held as soon as possible or within 90-day constitutional limit.

He reiterated that the PPP believed that elections should take place within 90 days, adding that the rest thought that they should take place after the delimitation exercise was concluded.

The former minister said that the PPP engaged with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on this issue, following which the latter brought the dates for delimitation forward.

Moreover, he said that elections must be held promptly, either within 90 days or, if not, within 120 days.

He further said that the people of the country were facing three major issues at the moment — inflation, unemployment and poverty.

“PPP has always proven that it does people-friendly politics and governance. That is why the PPP still says that elections should be held as soon as possible, so that we can win the polls and serve the people of the country,” he added.

Bilawal Bhutto also pointed out that ECP has unlawfully halted development funds and halted relief efforts for flood-affected people. “We call on the ECP to abolish these restrictions and stop the suspension of funds in Sindh,” he noted.

Responding to a question, Bilawal said that his father, ex-president Asif Ali Zardari, had been in politics for more than 30 years and spent the longest time behind bars.

“Now, we are hearing that those politicians who have to go through this ordeal are facing difficulties,” he said.

Referring to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), he said that the puppets imposed on the country had attacked sensitive military installations on May 9. “Those who participated in the attacks had to be taught a lesson so that no one could think of repeating the same in the future,” he added.

Earlier, it was reported that the ECP decided to hold general elections in the second week of February 2024.

Sources privy to the development told ARY News that the election commission is likely to issue general elections schedule after December 2023. “The election schedule will be issued 54 days after the completion of the delimitation process,” said sources with ECP.