PTI 'never sought' to stymie Shehbaz's path to PM’s Office by 'talking to PPP'

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for not joining hands with his party and trying to stop Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif’s path to the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Shehbaz Sharif would also have to extend thanks to the PTI after becoming the PM,” Bilawal said while taking a dig at the Imran-founded party in a press conference in Karachi.

“The PTI founder may have decided to not fight against Shehbaz. We are giving votes to the party which approached us [to form the next government in the Centre]," Bilawal, who was the foreign minister during Shehbaz's previous stint as PM, said.

The PPP and PML-N have entered into an agreement, with the Bilawal-led party set to support Shehbaz as the prime minister, while his party will be getting other top posts. However, the PPP will not be part of the federal cabinet.

The politico also commented on Imran Khan’s letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to block financial aid to Pakistan over alleged rigging in the February 8 nationwide polls and said: “The letter has no importance but it would expose their [PTI] real face before the nation.”

Bilawal's comments came as he visited a PPP loyalist Abdul Rehman’s residence in Karachi’s Orangi Town who had been killed during election-related violence.

Bilawal said that 12-year-old Abdul Rehman had been killed after his family was threatened to stop supporting the PPP, adding that many party loyalists lost their lives in violent incidents during the polls.

“We will catch the culprits involved in the attacks and provide justice to the families of slain PPP workers,” vowed Bilawal, adding that the PPP-led government in Sindh and Karachi would not tolerate any kind of religious, ethnic, and sectarian terrorism.

Bilawal said that he personally sought assistance from the law enforcement agencies against the violent incidents in which PPP workers were targeted.

He further announced that PPP would never forget its martyred activists and that a thorough probe through a joint investigation team (JIT) would be held into the incidents of violence and firing during the polls.

Commenting on ongoing protests against “election rigging”, the PPP chief said that political opponents could not blackmail them by levelling false allegations.

“Those parties which cannot win the polls without rigging are now protesting against election manipulation today without providing any solid evidence.”

He asked protesting parties to approach legal forums to address their rigging claims.