Bilawal hits back at PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Thursday took strong exception to remarks of Prime Minister Imran Khan about former president Asif Ali Zardari, and warned that the PPP would not tolerate any such attacks now. “Enough is enough. Since the Awami march started on Feb 27, two incidents have taken place, which cannot be tolerated.” He was referring to an incident of a drone camera hitting his sister, Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, and the prime minister’s statement that his father, Asif Ali Zardari, would be his [PM’s] first target after failure of the no-confidence motion.

“If any such action is taken against our family, then his generations will remember what I'll do to you. We have not used gun, but we know how to use it; we are peaceful and will remain peaceful,” he said while addressing the press conference at Sindh House here.

“The attack on Aseefa is unbearable, though I have shown patience because I believe in freedom of the press. I watched the video in every way, from every angle, and it did not look like an accident.

“The attack, which hit my sister directly, was a message to us, and it was a message for me and my father regarding our working for the restoration of democracy,” he claimed.

The PPP chairman said his party sacrificed the lives of his maternal grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, maternal uncles Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto, and mother Benazir Bhutto. “Now, no more; now we’ll give a befitting reply. As the prime minister is threatening Asif Zardari with a gun, we will not tolerate it; we do not trust this government,” he added. Bilawal requested the government agencies, including the ISI, to investigate the incident of the done-camera hitting his sister. “We will decide the future course of action and the attack on Asif Ali Zardari is unbearable,” he said. Responding to questions, the PPP chairman said the issue of an attack on Aseefa and the threats hurled by the prime minister were being looked at by a legal team.

Bilawal said corruption allegations had proven wrong repeatedly and people were sick and tired of hearing that script again and again. He wondered that the son of a person who was terminated from service for corruption was now levelling corruption charges against others. He said they had been hearing about alleged corruption of Asif Zardari for the past 30 years, but it had not been proven till date. “What Imran Khan will do after leaving the post of the prime minister is not known,” he added.

He said Imran Khan was facing a foreign funding case and according to it, he was funded by Israel and India. He said Akbar S Babar was his party's main member and he exposed the foreign funding. “By building a hospital in the name of his mother and raising money in the name of poor patients, Imran Khan runs his kitchen,” he alleged.

The PPP chairman said the US court had given a verdict against Imran Khan, which was true. “I have never said a word about the first lady. The bureaucracy in Punjab is telling stories of the first lady's corruption.

“We are told that no transfer and posting takes place in Punjab without giving the first lady money,” he said adding that Aleema Khan, a sister of PM Imran Khan, had been involved in corruption, “and she made a fortune by selling sewing machines”.

He also took strong exception to remarks of Prime Minister Imran Khan about Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President and chief of JUIF Maulana Fazlur Rehman, saying, “Who are you to speak against Maulana Fazlur Rehman? Do you know who Maulana Mufti Mahmood was.”

Bilawal said he had endured a lot, but would not tolerate any more. "I have the blood of Asif Zardari, Benazir Bhutto and the Quaid-e-Awam in my veins." “Now, we will not tolerate a single thing. No one will be able to bear our reaction,” he said.

To a question, Bilawal said as far as the role of the establishment was concerned, country’s history was witness to it. “We had reservations about the 2018 elections as well, and this no-confidence is a test of the establishment. We will see what role everyone played during the process,” he said.