Bilawal decries imposition of KP Action Ordinance 2019

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned imposition and enactment of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) Actions (in Aid of Civil Power) Ordinance, 2019.

“Instead of merging Fata into KP, they have turned all of KP into Fata,” added Mr Bhutto. The ordinance gives unlimited powers of arrest and detention to the armed forces and was previously imposed in Fata and Pata when militancy was its peak. “After the merger of Fata with KP, one would have thought that the legacy of colonial era’s draconian laws was over but this regressive step has once again shown that clearly the mindset hasn’t changed,” said Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari in a statement on Monday.

The PPP chairman said on the one hand the government claims that it has curbed militancy and law and order is now under control but on the other, it takes steps which belie its own claims. Labelling this move “as two steps backward”, he vowed to continue with his struggle for the supremacy of constitution and a rights-based society in Pakistan.

He said that they have seen the misuse of such arbitrary powers in the past. “This Ordinance also violates the judgements of superior courts and thus undermines the role of the judiciary.” The PPP chairman also instructed the provincial chapter of PPP to requisition the KP Assembly session in consultation with other opposition parties to debate this issue.

Bilawal also expressed his displeasure with the clandestine manner in which the Ordinance was promulgated. “The PTI government wants to run the entire country through ordinances and not proper legislation, which come in effect through consensus and a democratic process. While we are not surprised by such moves, we will not allow this government to lead the country into further chaos through their undemocratic actions,” he said.