'We will be in same jail': Bilawal warns govt against political victimisation

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari has criticised the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the major opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for using similar tactics to crush political opponents following the arrests of PTI lawmakers on Sunday's crackdown.

“If the government’s only job is to decide, who should we put behind bars today [because] Khan did this and spoiled the [political] climate. If we repay in the same coin then you may be happy for one day but tomorrow you and I will be in the same jail,” the PPP chief said on the floor of the National Assembly on Wednesday.

The PPP chief also slammed the former ruling party’s lawmakers for not respecting the parliamentary affairs and using the same confrontational tone in the house as they used in public rallies.

“We decide whatever politics we want to do outside the house,” said the Bhutto scion, adding: “[...] However, we have [to play] a responsible role here.”

Stressing on respecting the parliament’s dignity, Bilawal went on to say that if someone is a lawmaker then the individual will have to maintain a working relationship regardless of whatever they are saying in a public rally.

The politico said that the PML-N is the ruling party in the Centre and Punjab, whereas, the PPP is governing the Sindh and Balochistan.

He said that despite being an ally of the coalition government, his party has a difference of opinion with the ruling PML-N.

“I have been criticising the government's economic policies but I sit with them in different meetings,” he added.

However, no institution could function without the supremacy of the Constitution, he stressed.

Taking a jibe at PTI founder Imran Khan, Bilawal said that the former premier, who ruled the country from 2018 to 2022, had ruined the political environment.

He clarified that he has no personal grudges against the PTI founder, adding that he also does not care about who jailed his father or his mother.

Pointing towards the aggressive actions of the PTI lawmakers, Bilawal suggested: "If your leader [Imran Khan] is in jail for a time being then it does not make any difference. You should fight his legal battle on merit."

He also asked the lawmakers from the embattled opposition party not to leave their parliamentary committees.

Bilawal said that the PTI legislators during the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government exhibited “stubbornness” despite his advice against leaving the national and provincial assemblies.

“They are not ready to shake hands,” said Bilawal after the PTI founder announced to end all kinds of negotiations. “If they want to go ahead like this, then we are fine with it.”

Recalling the “Charter of Democracy” between the PML-N and the PPP, Bilawal said: “A specific lobby will never want to see a consensus [among political parties].”

He claimed that conspiracies was hatched to sabotage the political consensus “via Iftikhar Chaudhry [then chief justice of Pakistan]”.

In a bid to unite all political stakeholders under parliament's umbrella, the PPP chairman requested the National Assembly (NA) Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to make the house “functional” and then expand its scope to the entire country.

It is worth mentioning here that the government and the opposition earlier today unanimously adopted a resolution agreeing to constitute a 16-member committee for resolving issues related to the house in the aftermath of the alleged arrests of PTI lawmakers from within the Parliament House premises.

The development came as Speaker Ayaz Sadiq presided over the lower house's session against the backdrop of heightened political tensions following the arrest of several PTI lawmakers for allegedly violating the newly enacted Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024 about the party's public rally held in Islamabad on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, the speaker had also suspended the House's Sergeant at Arms and four other security officials for the security lapse which saw lawmakers being allegedly arrested by the Islamabad police and masked men from within the NA's premises.