Bilawal says time for ‘selected’ PM to get worried now

NOWSHERA: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Friday the three- years rule of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had brought disaster for the country, adding it was time for “selected” Prime Minister Imran Khan to get worried now.

“Selected Prime Minister Imran Khan has ignored the masses and only served his selectors,” said the PPP chief while speaking at a public meeting at Manki Sharif town where the brother of Federal Minister for Defence and PTI Member Provincial Assembly Liaquat Khattak and his son Ahad Khattak announced joining the PPP along with supporters.

Bilawal Bhutto came down hard on the PTI after accusing it of following the anti-people policies, especially the fiscal ones which, he said, had made life difficult for the common people and left them troubled.

The PPP chief said the PTI government was pursuing the policies dictated by the International Monetary Fund and that had led to an unprecedented price spiral in the country as the people were finding it difficult to earn a two-time meal.

Bilawal Bhutto accused the prime minister of lying to the people. He said the prime minister had promised to provide 10 million jobs to the youth and five million houses before the general election in 2018 but acted otherwise after getting “selected”.

“Imran Khan is snatching sources of living from the people. The PTI government has deprived a large number of people of jobs. These included 10,000 people from Pakistan Steels Mills and another 16,000 elsewhere,” he added while citing examples.

Bilawal Bhutto invited the people of Nowshera and KP to join hands with the PPP in getting rid of this “incompetent” government as it had become necessary to provide relief to the poor people who were sick of inflation.

The PPP chairman said PTI had been in power in KP for the last eight years and in the Centre for the last three years but all its rule had failed utterly to bring about a change in the lives of the people.

Bilawal Bhutto said the PPP was the party of the masses and had always worked for them whenever it assumed power. He said the PPP governments provided employment opportunities to the youth along with relief to the government employees and even those retired from the public service.

The PPP chairman especially mentioned the Benazir Income Support Programme launched by his party government in the past for the have-nots and a host of other similar measures introduced for the welfare of the poor.

Bilawal Bhutto said he wanted to convey a message to Prime Minister Imran Khan that the PPP jiyalas (hardcore party workers) would defeat him politically.

“The Jiyalas will never forgive this puppet. They will make the 'selected' accountable,” he said and declared that the PPP would arrange a grand function in Peshawar to mark the foundation day of the party. It may be mentioned here that the local administration had not given permission to the PPP to hold its foundation day programme in Peshawar.