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Published 26 Mar, 2022 04:37pm

Will not allow anyone to make institutions controversial for one person: Bilawal

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari alleged on Saturday that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted state institutions to operate as his party's Tiger Force as he made it clear that "we will not allow anyone to make our institutions controversial for one person."

"Next elections will be free and fair and no institutions will be made controversial for one person," Bilawal remarked while addressing a public meeting in Parachinar, Khyber Pakthunkhwa as he implied that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had won 2018 elections through the intervention of a state institution.

Imran Khan's election in 2018 was rather a "selection", the PPP chief said. "And after three years, after your hard work and struggle, if the selectors now feel that it is not their job to do the selection for such a position ... the people of the country welcome this."

Saying that his party's struggle had been focused on the restoration of democracy, Bilawal added their demand was that all institutions worked within their constitutional and legal ambits.

"Imran violates the Constitution and the democracy. He doesn't want the rule of law in Pakistan. He rather wants all institutions to work like his Tiger Force," Bilawal claimed.

But, he noted, the state institutions did not belong to Imran Khan alone. The institutions, he said, were of entire Pakistan.

"And we will not let an institution become controversial for one person," he remarked.

Bilawal went on to say that PM Imran's efforts had been directed towards making the judiciary also work like his Tiger Force instead of operating in a neutral manner.

"Imran has been conspiring and making efforts to turn all institutions — be it the NAB (National Accountability Bureau), be it the ISI (Inter-Service Intelligence), be it our armed forces, be it our police — into his Tiger Force," Bilawal alleged.

He added that it was his promise to the people that "we will not allow anyone to make our institutions controversial".

"We believe that institutions were made controversial in 2018 elections," he said, adding, "God willing, next elections will be fair and transparent and no institution will be made controversial for one person."

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