Not interested in ties with establishment, says Bilawal

LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said reports of the party's "relations" with the "establishment" are based on media speculation and demanded a neutral role of the "establishment".

Talking to senior journalists in the Punjab provincial capital on Tuesday, the PPP chairman said the long march would be successful if the "establishment opts to play a neutral role," Geo News reported.

"We have never been interested in [forging relations] with the establishment, and we never will be," he said. Last month, the PPP had said the anti-government long march from Karachi to Islamabad would take place on February 27, with Bilawal demanding immediate and transparent elections in the country. He had said that the nation wants to get rid of the “selected” government and a transparent election is the only solution.

Bilawal said PPP "always" acts for the betterment of the Parliament and democracy in the country, as he shared that the party would opt for a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan and not besiege the Parliament.

Bilawal said he believes that an extreme step from political parties against the government could lead to a crisis in Pakistan. "In our agreement with the PDM, a no-confidence motion was the last option."

"We will not hold prolonged sit-ins and attack the institutions; we will conduct political business in the Parliament. If we wish to remove the government, then we will do it in line with the Constitution."

Taking a jibe at the PMLN, he said if the party has the support of 34 members of the National Assembly from the PTI, then it should bring a motion of no-confidence against the premier. Speaking about Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Yusuf Raza Gilani, Bilawal said he has complete confidence in him. "Ever since the long march was announced, some elements have been trying to tarnish our image."

Gillani had on Monday announced plans to step down as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate as he was among eight Opposition senators in whose absence the passage of the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill took place.