Senate elections: Bid to seek trust vote aimed at hiding PM’s defeat: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari termed the seeking of vote of confidence as an attempt to hide Imran Khan’s defeat in the Senate, and said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) would decide when and where the no-confidence motion would be tabled.

Addressing a news conference on Thursday, Bilawal said Prime Minister Imran Khan had challenged that if the opposition wins the seat in Islamabad, he would hold new elections.

We had accepted his challenge and will take on the government on every forum, including the election of the chairman Senate, he said.

Bilawal was accompanied by Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Farhatullah Babar, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Shazia Marri, and others.

“We have told everyone in the Senate elections that the rulers have been rejected,” he said.

Bilawal said the number of MNAs against this ‘puppet government’ would keep increasing. He said if Prime Minister Imran Khan knew the names of his party members who took money to vote, he should expel them from his party.

He said the PPP did not spend money to get votes, whereas, Imran Khan promised 50 crore rupees to every member.

Bilawal said the future strategy to be adopted against Prime Minister Imran Khan would be decided from the platform of the PDM. Whatever decision is taken through consensus by the PDM, we will abide by it, he said.

He said now the PDM would call the shots and not Imran Khan who had lost confidence of his own MNAs.

He said the democratic forces now smell the blood and would contest against this ‘selected and puppet’ government for the position of chairman Senate.

The PPP chairman said the people had been in trouble for the last three years because of this ‘puppet government.’ He said the people are not able to pay the utility bills, fees of their children, medicine for their elderly, and commodities for their families.

Bilawal said the people of Pakistan celebrated the win of the PDM candidate from a general seat from Islamabad because they wanted to see this puppet government to resign.

Bilawal said Prime Minister Imran Khan had said that he would dissolve the government, “if we win this seat from Islamabad”.

“Now, he should have at least announced his own resignation.”

The PPP chairman said Prime Minister Imran Khan now once again wanted to stage a drama in the next two days.

“He should be clear that now he will not take the decisions, rather we, the PDM will tell him that when and where the no-confidence is going to come.” He said now there would be ‘no puppet shows’ and the PDM would take decisions.

Bilawal said, “We are receiving great response from the treasury benches because their hearts are with us.” He said every institution had to remain in its own domain and the PPP was continuing this struggle for the last three generations.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021