Bilawal urges Fazl to broker dialogue between govt, PTI

KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday urged Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman to facilitate dialogue between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to resolve the political impasse in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Speaking to media at the Karsaz monument on the 19th anniversary of the October 18, 2007, bombing, Bilawal said both the government and opposition respected Maulana Fazlur Rehman, enabling him to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.

He defended the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency measures in KP, arguing that the provincial government in KP had failed to effectively confront terrorism. He said the PPP’s priority was protecting lives and property while upholding the Constitution and democracy. Governor rule could end if KPK Chief Minister and other party leaders were willing to openly support the federal government in their fight against terrorists, he hinted.

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Bilawal recalled that the PPP had supported governor’s rule in Balochistan in January 2013 after the provincial government failed to contain terrorism.

He urged all major political parties to unite against extremism, support a new National Action Plan and cooperate on electoral reforms. He also called on the opposition to work with the ruling coalition to address terrorism and the country’s economic challenges.

He regretted that when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, the then the federal government in Pakistan showed a soft corner to them. Taliban returned and became active once again in the Swat and Malakand regions, where earlier they were washed away.

On proposals to create new provinces or administrative units in Sindh, Bilawal said the Constitution required broad public consensus and approval by a two-thirds majority of the relevant provincial assembly. He questioned why provinces were not being created in areas where such demands had widespread support, citing Gilgit-Baltistan as an example.

Responding to criticism that the PPP had compromised on its principles, he said the party had made sacrifices for democracy, constitutional supremacy and people’s rights. That, political compromises were sometimes necessary in the larger national interest, citing former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s efforts to restore democracy.

Bilawal paid tribute to the PPP workers killed in the Karsaz bombing, recalling how they shielded Benazir Bhutto’s vehicle during the attack. He said she had returned to Pakistan despite serious threats to continue her struggle for democracy and public rights, ultimately losing her life in the December 27, 2007, assassination in Rawalpindi. He regretted that justice had yet to be delivered in Benazir Bhutto’s murder case, alleging that evidence had been destroyed by the then government.

First Lady Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, PPP Sindh President Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, General Secretary Syed Waqar Mehdi, Karachi Division President Saeed Ghani and Karachi Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad were also present.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026