KOHAT: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said the government is losing a foothold as lawmakers of the ruling party have been contacting the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for voting in the upcoming Senate elections.

Speaking at a public meeting at Babri Banda football ground on Saturday, the opposition party’s chairman said the government that seldom contacted its lawmakers in the past couple of years had started contacting them as well as its allies to get their support for the Senate elections. But it was too late for the government, he believed, adding that it was right time for the lawmakers to decide whether they were with the people or with the ‘comedian’ and ‘corrupt to the core’ government.

He said the people should prepare themselves for the PDM’s long march on Islamabad after the Senate elections so that the “illegitimate” government and “puppet” prime minister could be sent home.

People from Hangu, Tank, Bannu and other districts came in huge convoys to participate in the public meeting, which was also addressed by former deputy speaker of the National Assembly Faisal Kareem Kundi, PPP provincial president Hamayun Khan, former MNA from Kohat Pir Dilawar Shah. Several central and provincial executive committee members of the party were also present on the stage.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said corruption could not be ended unless law was made and applied equally to the judiciary, army, bureaucracy, lawmakers in power and other influential people. He said it was the only remedy to finish the menace.

He was of the opinion that PTI leaders were in a race to accumulate wealth, because there was no accountability of the family of the prime minister and government members. He said that corruption in the one billion tree drive, foreign funding case of the ruling party and wealth collection through sewing machines of Aleema Khan were not visible to National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Mr Bhutto-Zardari said the PDM was fighting the government in all fields and had defeated its candidates on all by-election seats, proving that people believed in democracy. He said the PDM would protect the people from the policies of a “corrupt, incompetent and illegal” government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at all costs.

He said that MPs would vote for PPP secretary general Farhatullah Babar on the technocrat seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Yousuf Raza Gilani from platform of the PDM from Islamabad against “IMF and WB” candidate Hafeez Sheikh.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2021