Are ‘selected’ ones enjoying umpire’s finger, asks Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: The PPP Chairman, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on Thursday said he would like to ask the ‘selected prime minister’ whether he liked the ‘umpire’s finger’ and from those who selected him whether thy liked ‘tabdeeli’ (change).

Bilawal said Prime Minister Imran Khan is "only insulting himself" when he passes comments such as 'Sahiba'. Speaking to the media outside the Parliament House, Bilawal said: "Referring to a man as a woman does not harm the man but what sort of message does this send to the women of Pakistan? That our prime minister is saying that being a woman is an insult?

"This is Pakistan and here women stand shoulder to shoulder with men. If there was no Fatima Jinnah, would Pakistan be formed? If there was no Fatima Jinnah, who would oppose Ayub?" Bilawal asked. Senator Sherry Rehman, Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Dr Nafeesa Shah, Chaudhry Manzoor, Naz Baloch and Nazir Dhoki were also present during Bilawal’s press talk.

“We were the first Muslim country to elect a woman prime minister,” the PPP chairman continued. "We are proud of the women of this country. We think they should be given space in politics, economy and society," he added.

"If Khan Sahab thinks passing a comment like this he is insulting anyone, he is only insulting himself," Bilawal asserted, adding: "He is this country’s prime minister and he should hold his tongue."

Commenting on statements that the premier referring to him as ‘Sahiba’ was a ‘slip of tongue’, Bilawal said, “The amount of slip of tongues by this prime minister is more than the speed of light.”

"Slip of tongues should not happen because it insults the entire nation. So many slips of tongue happen when we have a selected PM," he further said and appealed to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to travel with the prime minister so such slip of the tongues can be avoided.

Regarding the current economic situation, Bilawal said: "People are drowning in a tsunami of inflation. In every industry there is unemployment. Inflation has risen so much that life has become difficult for Pakistanis. How can this government say inflation is not an issue? Inflation is worrisome for every Pakistani and it is the government's job to provide relief to people."

Bilawal questioned: "Why should we be happy if loans are leading to prices being raised? Can the poor people be given amnesty and relief? The government will eliminate subsidies to provide relief to the rich."

The PPP chairman said if there was no relief for the people in the budget, they will come out on the streets themselves. "There cannot be two Pakistans in this country. These are oppressive rulers and do not care for the people. The nation can take your oppression till a limit," Bilawal said.

Further criticising the government, Bilawal said the party which was known for its use of social media cannot tolerate a tweet from a political party or a journalist. In response to a question, Bilawal said: "We did not accept one-unit system before and won't accept it today either. If attempts are made to bring in one-unit system or presidential system then I am warning you, the country will split. The government should do its work and stop politics of containers and rallies."

He said government has acknowledged the PPP’s economic policies and that was reason they had appointed PPP’s finance minister Hafeez Shaikh to stabilise the economy. To a question, Bilawal said Sardar Akhtar Mengal delivered a meaningful speech in the National Assembly, but his speech was blacked out. He said he respects Dr Shireen Mazari, but she did not give answer to the questions of Sardar Akhtar Mengal. He said that during the PML-N tenure, 2.8 million jobs were provided to the people, while in the PPP tenure, 6.8 million jobs were created.