Bilawal questions move to ban word ‘selected’ for PM

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has questioned the move to discourage lawmakers from using the word “selected” for Prime Minister Imran Khan in the House, blaming it on the Premier’s “ego”, Geo News reported.

“It is quite strange to see you banning one word,” he said on the floor of the National Assembly on Monday, referring to Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri’s move to issue the ruling a day earlier.

“This ban has been imposed because of the Prime Minister’s ego…You are further fuelling the fire,” he added. “It is very unfortunate that in Naya Pakistan the space for democratic rights and human rights is receding,” he said. “We respect this House [but] this House is being held hostage.”

He also asked if the government would do the opposition’s job then who would do the government’s job. The PPP chairman then spoke of how former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had given Pakistan its Constitution and Quaid-e-Azam talked of parliamentary democracy.

“This house is responsible for the rights of the people, and we’re their spokespersons,” Bilawal said. “If the House is not given its due respect, it will start portraying the setting from George Orwell’s novel.”