Bilawal says govt not implementing National Action Plan

ISLAMABAD: PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the government was not implementing the National Action Plan.

He said this while addressing a press conference Wednesday after appearing before the NAB. Criticising government’s actions of forming JITs against Opposition leaders, he asked it to muster courage for forming JITs on terror financing and last general elections.

“If you have the courage summon Ehsanullah Ehsan and leaders of banned organisations,” he added. He told reporters nobody including the Opposition parties would take government’s actions under the NAP seriously unless three ministers are sacked. Bilawal also saw correlation between issuance of NAB notices to him and his speech in Gilgit-Baltistan when he said he would expose legitimacy of the PTI government. “I warn the government that it will be responsible for consequences if it does not stop blackmailing and authoritarian acts,” he said. He also doubted actions of the government against leaders and workers of the banned organisations under the NAP. “I do not believe that you arrested them rather than you took them in your protective custody so that they are not hit by Indian aircraft,” he said, adding that how could he believe that the government had frozen accounts of leaders of banned organisations. He questioned had the PTI government frozen accounts of banned organisations similar to that of Musharraf’s account then from where the money was taken out.

Reiterating his demand to sack three federal ministers having alleged links with banned outfits, Bilawal warned the PTI government that it would be responsible for consequences if it does not stop blackmailing and using authoritarian tactics. “The government will have to sack three federal ministers having links with banned organisations if it wanted to give a message to the world that it is seriously acting against extremism and terrorism,” he added.

It may be pointed out that Bilawal in a tweet message Tuesday said the government responded to his demand to sack three federal ministers having links with banned organisations with death threats and issuing NAB notices.

He said it was not new for him to appear before courts recalling that he was one to two years old when he used to accompany his mother Benazir Bhutto to courts. To a question, he said there was good working relationship between the PPP and the PML-N and they were on the same page when it comes to human and economic rights, adding his party also demands action against federal minister who contested general elections with the support of banned organisation. “One minister is also saying that a specific organisation cannot be banned during the PTI government,” he added. He said one of the federal ministers had past record of supporting banned organisation and running training camps.

He said there was a minister who always remained part of every ‘selected government’ and was also not ashamed of the fact that he has been supporting a banned organisation and there was also a video in which he was saying that no action could be taken against that organisation. To a question about extension to military courts, he said the PPP would not extend support to the government in this connection.

“I am a little bit disappointed with the military courts performance. The military courts are no long-term solution to extremism and terrorism in a democratic system,” he said. However, he said he had not been approached officially by the government on extension to military courts.

Bilawal condemned what he said brutal use of force against the PPP workers and demanded release of detained activists, who came Wednesday at the NAB headquarters, where Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal appeared before the NAB. “The government has surrendered before the banned organisations but could not tolerate workers of a political party for 30 minutes,” he added.

He said he was served summon notice Monday to appear before the NAB and he did not give any protest call saying the PPP workers reached the NAB Office to express solidarity with their leaders. “It was dictatorial and authoritarian brutal action on part of the government while the PTI made the federal capital hostage for 200 days,” in the past.

He regretted that his name continued to exist on the JIT report despite the fact that the former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar had directed to expunge his name from the report as he was just one-year-old when the Park Lane Estate Company was established.

Moreover, he said the case was transferred to NAB Rawalpindi which was out of its jurisdiction whereas it related to Karachi. “What is significant in Rawalplindi. My grandfather was victim of judicial murder here and my mother was also assassinated in Rawalpindi,” he added.

He said fake bank accounts case in which he was not involved, also did not fall in jurisdictions of the NAB as there was no public money involved in the case and same being heard by a banking court. Admitting mistake of the PPP government of not doing away with black law like NAB law, he said it was created by former president Pervez Musharraf to change loyalties of political leaders. “In future, we will do away with every law brought in by any dictator,” he said. “There will be no solution to the issue of corruption until lopsided accountability remains in the country”. Accountability is not the same for all including those in uniform, without uniform and for the judges,” Bilawal said.