HYDERABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari should not lose time to pull out his no confidence motion from the pocket and immediately table it in National Assembly.

He said at a press conference at the residence of a senior party leader Gul Mohammad Rind in Sakrand town on Wednesday that Bilawal should ask opposition to requisition NA session immediately so that the motion could be tabled.

He said that opposition’s movement had already run out of steam over the news that PML-Q stood by government after prime minister’s fruitful discussions with Chaudhrys on Tuesday. The opposition tried to incite Chaudhrys but faced disappointment, he said.

He said that opposition was only trying to deceive people and remarked that PPP was raising slogan of Wazir-i-Azam Bilawal, whose popularity rating in Punjab stood at only 5pc. Would he be prime minister only with NA seats of rural Sindh, he asked.

He said that PPP had no presence in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and even in Sindh’s heart, Karachi, it was incomprehensible from where they were going to get required votes for making Bilawal premier. “It provides a reality check, my son, [Bilawal] you can’t become prime minister,” Qureshi said sarcastically.

Bilawal needed more time to learn necessary things in politics as he was still relying on written stuff, he said.

He said that he had an innocent question to ask Bilawal why he ordered complete closure of the cities before his march arrived there and why general public were kept away from his gatherings. He answered the questions himself, saying because the PPP chief was leading a “rented march”.

He said that federal government had released Rs8.9 trillion to Sindh over the past 14 years and only Imran Khan government had given Rs1,000 billion for the development of the province. But almost half of the development budget, 44 per cent to be exact, fell prey to corruption in Sindh, he said.

People of Sindh had fully awakened now and facts could no longer be concealed from them, they were raising the slogan ‘Bilawal Bhutto hisab do, 9000 arab ka jawab do’, he said.

He admitted publicly that his party has failed to approach Sindh the way it should have but “from now onwards it will leave no stone unturned” to own the province.

He said that time had come to change the destiny of Sindh, which would be centre of PTI’s politics from now onwards. He was witnessing change in Sindh, everyone was eager to listen to PTI leaders because people had become tired of PPP which had broken apart Sindh while PTI was trying to unify it, he said.

He said that PPP had drawn a line between Sindhi and Urdu speaking people. Those who migrated to Sindh were also Sindhis as they showed their belief in two nation theory, he said.

He said that PPP’s march lacked energy and but for government’s resources, the march would have been a complete failure. Someone made a video of the venue hours before the PTI jalsa began to show thin attendance which was completely wrong picture, he said.

PTI Sindh president Ali Zaidi, opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh and others were also present at the press conference.

Our Mirpurkhas correspondent adds: Qureshi said at a public meeting at railway station chowk after the PTI march arrived here that PTI’s allies stood by Imran Khan which had deflated opposition parties’ movement.

He said that Bilawal should first volunteer for accountability of 15-year rule of PPP in Sindh and then ask others for the same.

He asked people to dislodge PPP from government in coming general election for the sake of better future of their children.

Earlier, federal minister Ali Zaidi, adviser to prime minister on Sindh affairs Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Shaikh and other party leaders also spoke at the public meeting.

PPP activists block route of march

Activists of Pakistan Peoples Party tried to block Haqooq-i-Sindh march of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf workers in Kandiari on Wednesday when the march was on its way to Mirpurkhas from Sanghar and raised slogans of ‘Go Niazi go’.

Due to this unpleasant incident PTI Sanghar leadership decided to change the march’s route, said PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi in kandiari.

He warned if any harm came to him its FIR would be lodged against Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari.

PM’s special assistant on Sindh affairs, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim said that PPP always resorted to such ugly tactics whenever it saw defeat. Police were a party and preferred to remain silent to save their promotions and uniform, he said.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2022