PPP leader asks PM to step down after failing to deliver

PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) former senior minister Rahimdad Khan said Monday his party cannot remain silent over the injustices with the people by the rulers who were pushing the country to anarchy.

Addressing a news conference, he said: “The immature Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership has confused the nation as to where it wants to lead the country. Both the federal and provincial governments have failed to deliver.” Rahimdad said that instead of adopting mature and civilised behaviour, the PTI leaders were acting as if they were still in the opposition.

A ruling party, he said, always tries to take the opposition along for solving problems and uses decent language but the PTI ignored decency, norms and political traditions. He said the PTI government has failed to improve the economy and initiate any mega project despite making tall claims.

Those expecting foreign investment were disappointed as the so-called champions of change and reforms could not bring any investment during their one-year rule, he said. He argued one year was sufficient period to check the performance of a government.

Rahimdad said Prime Minister Imran Khan was falling from grace as the people chanted the slogan of “go Imran go!” when he recently visited Azad Kashmir. He said the PPP and Bhutto family had always rendered sacrifices for Pakistan and kept the country united. Rahimdad said PPP leader Asif Zardari had raised the slogan of “Pakistan Kappay” to keep Pakistan intact when people were protesting against the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

He said the PTI leaders should improve their performance and take steps to fight corruption in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa instead of interfering in the internal affairs of the Sindh government. The PPP leader advised the PTI government to concentrate on the incomplete Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in which the experts have pointed out many faults. He said the PTI rulers would not be allowed to scrap the 18th Amendment.

Rahimdad said the opposition leaders’ accountability was unilateral and unacceptable to the PPP. He asked the rulers to step down by December or else they would be forced to resign. The PPP leader said the country would face irreparable losses if the rulers were allowed to rule for another year.

Rahimdad did not agree with a journalist who said his party was playing a double game. “Since Maulana Fazlur Rehman wanted solo flight while staging dharna against the government, our party will provide him moral support,” he said. “We are not demanding midterm elections or caretaker government. We are exerting pressure on Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign. Then it will be the job of Election Commission of Pakistan to play its role,” he added.