Force can’t finish terrorism: Bilawal

BANNU: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Saturday that terrorism could only be eliminated by ensuring the rule of law and promoting social justice in the country.

“We want the accused including General (retd) Pervez Musharraf to be arrested, tried in the court and handed down punishment for his crimes,” Bilawal told a public meeting at the Durrani Sports Complex here. He said that terrorism could not be eliminated if forced disappearances and target killings continued unabated.

The PPP chairman said that extrajudicial killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud and target killings were not individual cases but it’s a national issue.

“We need a free and powerful judiciary that could dispense justice and criminals get punishment for their crimes,” he added. “Extremism is the root cause of terrorism and it can be rooted out by promoting social justice and harmony in society, putting an end to the activities of the banned outfits, and economic equality,” he said.

The PPP chief said that his party had given the right to vote to the tribespeople and abolished the Frontier Crimes Regulation in Malakand, adding that the party would also merge the tribal areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well.

Criticising the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for his opposition to the merger of Fata with KP, Bilawal wondered why the Maulana was against the merger?

“He is the lone person to oppose the merger of tribal areas. The basic human rights of the tribespeople are being denied to them. Why is he doing this with Pashtuns?” he asked.

Bilawal said the people of KP had been braving the violence for the past 46 years.

The PPPP chairman also came down hard on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and said they failed to bring about any change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “The PTI-led KP government could not construct a single hospital during its over four and a half years rule in the province. People and animals are forced to drink water from the same pond, but the PTI chief Imran Khan continues to claim recruiting thousands of youth in health sector,” he added.

Addressing Imran Khan, Bilawal said: “You are the champion of U-turns and abusing your political opponents.”

“The people in this gathering said that the KP government could not honour its pledges. The youth are no more supporting the PTI. The people would take revenge on PTI by not voting for the party in the upcoming general elections,” he added.

Bilawal alleged that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government in the Centre was trying to reverse the 18th constitutional amendment to strip the provinces of resources and power given to them under the law. “We will resist any such move and not let it happen come what may,” he vowed.

He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was designed to bring the terrorism-devastated and underdeveloped areas on a par with the rest of the country, but alleged that the project was changed to the benefit of Punjab. He accused former prime minister Nawaz Sharif of opposing the renaming of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“But the previous PPP-led federal government compelled Nawaz Sharif to accept the decision,” he added.

He hoped that the PPP would win the next general elections and form government in the centre and all provinces.

Earlier, central PPP executive committee member Anwar Saifullah Khan, provincial president Hamayun Khan and former provincial minister Sher Azam Wazir also spoke on the occasion.

Azam Wazir and Lakki Marwat district nazim Iqbal Hussain presented traditional turban to the PPP chairman.

Our correspondent adds from Islamabad: Reacting to Bilawal’s criticism of the PTI and KP government, Senator Faisal Javed Khan charged that the PPP leader could not see through his eyes the international level university and hospital in the province.

Faisal said in a statement that had there been a decent hospital in Sindh, people would have not rushed to Karachi for treatment.

He asserted that on each visit to KP, Bilawal would lose his party men to PTI.

He came hard on the Sindh government for alleged rampant corruption and ignoring health and education sectors and hardly doing anything to help lessen difficulties of people of the province.