Bilawal doubts govt ability to legislate on COAS tenure

MUZAFFARABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday cast doubt on the federal government’s ability to legislate on the army chief’s extension within the six-month timeframe granted by the Supreme Court.

The apex court, earlier this week, allowed the government conditional permission to extend Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure by six months, provided that it legislates on the matter during the given time period.

Bilawal questioned how the government would be able to legislate on such an important matter with consensus when it was not able to draft a notification of the COAS extension in three months.

“The entire government, its ministers and the prime minister could not draft a single notification in three months,” the PPP chairman said during his speech at his party's 52nd foundation day in Muzaffarabad.

“Now the matter of the army chief’s extension will be brought to the Parliament,” he said.

“The people who were not able to get even a single law passed during their one year … how they will be able to create consensus on such an important piece of legislation within six months?” he asked.

Furthermore, Bilawal assailed the government on a variety of issues, ranging from inflation to targeting of opposition parties and suppression of media.

Bilawal also credited his father and former president Asif Ali Zardari for initiating the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and warned the government that his party would not allow them to make the multi-billion project “controversial”.

The PPP chairman said the current government has become threat for national security and no one is satisfied with its performance. “We must get rid of this government as Pakistan cannot afford more experiments,” Bilawal said, adding that the power of rule should be returned to people and the “selected” must be sent home.

“We are standing with the people of Occupied Kashmiri and only demand of Kashmiris is plebiscite,” he said, adding that the PPP will liberate Kashmiris after coming to power.

Bilawal said the government will have to rectify the tax system but tax cannot be collected by terming someone a thief and a dacoit. He said that Indian PM Narendra Modi is a threat to peace in the region.

The PPP chairman said the President House has been turned into an ordinance factory. He said the PM doesn’t attend the assembly proceedings and ministers go back after abusing.

Bilawal said the masses are currently facing difficulties as the “selected” have brought cyclone of price hike in country and institutions have been destroyed. He said hundreds and thousands of people have been made jobless and homeless. He said the PPP has come out in the field and soon the government will be sent home.

Bilawal asked that why cotton and wheat production has been decreased by 30 percent, adding that the PPP had increased the wheat price from Rs400 to Rs1,200. He said the current government is giving relief to the rich and putting burden on the poor people. He said that subsidy is being snatched from the farmers and pension of old pensioners is not being increased. He said the poor people are being thrown before the tsunami of price spiral. He said that it is said that the economy has been put on the right direction and helicopter is being run on Rs50 per kilometre and tomatoes are being sold at Rs17 per kg and people are becoming billionaire through sewing machines and this could only be possible in Pakistan of Imran Khan.

Bilawal announced to hold public gathering on December 27 at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi, on the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, where Benazir Bhutto was martyred.

Former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Parvez Ashraf, former chairman Senate Syed Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah, former chief minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Sherry Rehman, Abdul Rehman Malik, Farhatullah Babar, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Opposition Leader in AJK Legislative Assembly Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, former PM AJK Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, former president AJK Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob Khan and other leaders also addressed the gathering.

Meanwhile, Bilawal also held an important meeting with Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider in Muzaffarabad.