Even PM may become victim of PPO, warns Bilawal

Dawn.com Published April 10, 2014

Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari warned Thursday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may himself one day become a victim of the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance if it is passed in its current form.

The controversial anti-terror law has become the topic of much debate in Pakistan, with critics and opposition members saying it gives sweeping powers to security agencies to infringe the fundamental rights of the citizens guaranteed under the constitution.

Opposition parties have vowed to stop the legislation from being passed into law without significant amendments.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) also slammed the legislation today, tabling a resolution in the Sindh Assembly against it. “The MQM rejects the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance. We will continue to protest against this black law as long as our workers are alive,” MQM chief Altaf Hussain said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Senator Farhatullah Babar of the PPP said that the bill is under the review of the Senate, and that his party will try to amend the law.

PTI leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi says his party will challenge the law in court.

Babar said that if the law is passed while retaining its current shape, it will provide legal cover to enforce disappearances, and extra-judicial killings would become the norm.

“This law will turn Pakistan into a police state,” Shah Mehmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), said earlier on Tuesday.

“We have decided to take this law to court and challenge its anti-human rights stance.”

Also read: Petitioner moves SC against PPO

The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) government argues the legislation is necessary to curb the rising terrorism and militancy across the country.

The bill was passed late on Monday amid protests from members of parliament and condemnation from international rights groups. The law empowers Pakistan's already powerful security forces to shoot terrorism suspects at sight, detain suspects for up to 90 days, conduct secret trials and transfer cases to special courts.

The law is yet to be approved by the opposition-controlled Senate.

Pakistan

PPP to ‘strongly’ oppose anti-terror law in Senate

Petitioner moves SC against PPO

Indefinite detention gets legal cover

Opposition parties to challenge PPO in court

Sam

Apr 10, 2014 06:22pm

Mr. Bilawal, is your message to your political comrades about adding a clause that could safeguard rich and powerful? If so then i must say "like father like son"

Recommend 0

Ganga Din

Apr 10, 2014 06:23pm

Should we be feeling sorry for Shah Mehmood Qureshi? I mean the poor guy tried to cosy up to Hillary Clinton. LOL

Recommend 0

Asad

Apr 10, 2014 06:26pm

That's the reason I still love PPP, true DEMOCRATES....I am sure it will be properly amended by the PPP and will not be passed in the current form...Even though the PTI is setting in assembly still they don't know what are the house procedures and democratic way of solving such issues...pushing every issue to the court and involving SC in day to day politics is really bad....

Recommend 0

Hamid Sindho

Apr 10, 2014 06:35pm

I don't know about Nawaz Sharif but Bilawal Zardari's uncle Murtaza Bhutto became a victim of this when he tried to shoot at police in 1996.

Recommend 0

abomination

Apr 10, 2014 07:05pm

@Asad: true democrats?!!! you need to go back to school!

Recommend 0

observer

Apr 10, 2014 07:12pm

@Asad: PTI protested against it in the parliament but it got passed as govt. has sufficient majority to pass such laws. Now PTI doesn't have much say in senate, so they went to court to stop it from becoming law. Makes sense?

Recommend 0

Zak

Apr 10, 2014 07:21pm

Nawaz wants to settle old scores and this is the cover for it. Good ol Nawaz, groomed by a dictator, served a dictator, behaved like a dictator and now is vindictively after one. I pray it does not pass. Let the change come from within the will of the people not by terrorizing the citizens. Understandable under an honest police force but not a politicized one. In Punjab we know which parties cadres will be in. Reminds me of Zulfiqar Ali Bhuttos FSF days.

Recommend 0

saeeds

Apr 10, 2014 07:39pm

@abomination: PPP prove time and time they are working for democracy and recent election is the perfect example. This is the only party who sacrifice for democracy and secular system from Zia era to BB and Taseer murders. But hate against democracy and secularism among people of Pakistan close all doors for rational thinking.

Recommend 0

Mustafa

Apr 10, 2014 07:48pm

Pakistani leaders, wake up! The militancy and terrorism in Pakistan requires more than "Police State", may be Marshal Law for a period of at least a year or until all militants and terrorists, the enemies of Pakistan are completely eliminated. Those politicians who dwell on the support militants and terrorists are one of them, no question about it. You will never have democracy in Pakistan until all militants and terrorists are completely eliminated and no one can do this job except the Jawans and officers in Khaki uniform to perform their job unhindered.

Recommend 0

Agha Ata

Apr 10, 2014 08:20pm

You are so right Bilawal, when you say: ". . . Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may himself one day become a victim of the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance if it is passed in its current form." Not only that, but all chairmen of different political parties could also become victims in certain circumstances.

Recommend 0

Naveed Javed

Apr 10, 2014 09:20pm

PPP, the only real democratic and plural party. Well said Bilawal, I am sure you will make this country a true democratic, liberal and a plural country one day. And you have my support for that. May God bless you always!!

Recommend 0

nadeem

Apr 10, 2014 09:28pm

@Asad: Kindly request your beloveds to have mercy on ppl of sind who have voted for them.I put up at Sukkur..this city reflects the true face of ppp governance whom you love very much.Broken roads...choked sewerages...dirty and filthy water to drink.The educated and good people of this province are suffering due to the illitrate and bonded villagers of interior.

Recommend 0

gerry d'cunha

Apr 10, 2014 09:46pm

civilian govt after za bhotto in pakistan cannot work wiith incompetent people - martial law is the only solution to rule the country

Recommend 0

Fareed

Apr 11, 2014 01:02am

@Asad: Evidently 'true' Jayalas are still around. Did not learn any thing from pathetic, corrupt tenure of Asif Ali Zardari.

Recommend 0

saad saeed

Apr 11, 2014 01:06am

Well said First time I am feeling that he has said something of merit

Recommend 0

Pakistani

Apr 11, 2014 01:29am

Please Pakistan dont ever vote for this type of guys otherwise you will stand infornt of Allah and answer for that .....only Allah knows better

Recommend 0

independentthinker

Apr 11, 2014 01:40am

I don't know how this law will make things different in Pakistan? Don't we have random kidnapping already, random shooting, random arrests for indefinite periods, etc. How would this law bring anything new, to something that has existed for many many years already? I know first hand, about people who have been arrested for no apparent reason and put behind bars for years without any conviction. Police have shot and killed people, on instructions from their superiors and planted evidence later. As for our Bilawal - he is forgetting that during his grandfather's rule, his mother's rule and recently, his father's rule, these same practices were carried on with the blessings of the governing party. If he is afraid that this law will put his life in danger, then he must remember that every politician in Pakistan has his/her days numbered. The ax could fall anytime. One just needs to wait for their day to pay the dues.

Recommend 0

Muhammad

Apr 11, 2014 02:35am

Right u r Bilawal, much more matured than your age.

Recommend 0

Khan

Apr 11, 2014 02:56am

Of course all these traitors are against this bill. It will harder for them to loot the country and this bill puts more preasurre on the to behave like normal people. Pakistan and pakistanis really need this bill now. Or else we'll end up like syria. Do we really want to block this bill just to accomodate these few corrupt politicians. It's time for the pakistani people to start thinking about themselves for once.

Recommend 0

lew273

Apr 11, 2014 03:04am

@gerry d'cunha: So true we only act when the danda is on our head

Recommend 0

abomination

Apr 11, 2014 07:23am

@saeeds: You need to go to school as well. Maybe you have a short memory. Did BHUTTO not appoint himself as chief marital law administer?!!! Please don't even put dynastic politics and democracy in the same sentence.

Recommend 0

Rao Farman

Apr 11, 2014 07:28am

@Naveed Javed: PPP made Pakistan a plural country in 1971 when they said yahan hum wahan tum. They would have done this again had Musharraf not ran to hide abroad after NRO.

Recommend 0

Sane Voice in Mad World

Apr 11, 2014 08:29am

First substantial statement by Bilawal Zardari. It seems as if he is coming of age in politics.

Recommend 0

azhar

Apr 11, 2014 09:07am

@saeeds: where is democracy in Peoples party?. First owned by grand father then daughter and now the grand son is the owner of this democratic party. I do not know how old you are but ask some who has lived when ZAB was in power. After the mass rigging in the 1977 elections and when public protested he tried to crush it by force. I remember in every major city there were 25-30 people killed by the security forces every day. Total number of deaths were in thousands. You call it democracy? Now this will be a miracle if this post is printed.

Recommend 0

tahir

Apr 11, 2014 10:05am

@Sam: True like father like son,

Recommend 0

butterfly

Apr 11, 2014 10:44am

I haven't heard Bilawal say anything irrational or against common sense till date.. still, regardless of what he says, people go on a frenzy of emotional name-calling against him and his party, without even bothering to ponder over what he is saying and why! why do you think Pakistan is facing what it is facing now? because of his very attitude of people which goes in the favor of the dirty establishment and power quarters who in actual rule Pakistan.... Pakistanis themselves are more responsible for their downfall more than any other!

Recommend 0

abomination

Apr 11, 2014 04:20pm

@saeeds: I don't know what's more disturbing; your naivety or your foolishness? Who appointed himself as chief martial law administrator and which party did he belong to? Please don't put dynastic politics and democracy in the same sentence! Democracy in Pakistan is a farce!!!

Recommend 0