Resign & go home: Stop taking notice, Bilawal tells Imran

ISLAMABAD: The combined opposition in the National Assembly asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign and tender an apology to the nation for ruining the economy of the country and putting the lives of people in danger.

While speaking in the National Assembly on Monday, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and PML-N Parliamentary Leader in the National Assembly Khawaja Muhammad Asif came hard on the government and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari while speaking in the National Assembly said Prime Minister Imran Khan had better to tender an apology to the nation for ruining the economy of the country and putting the lives of the people in danger or resign to let someone else take charge.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said it will better for Prime Minister Imran Khan to quarantine himself instead of taking notices because whenever he has taken notice of anything, the prices have gone up. “Imran Khan took notice of increase in the price of medicine, he took notice of masks and the prices went further up, the prices went further up when he took notice of wheat price, the price went further up when he took notice of sugar price, the price went further up so he should put himself in quarantine and stop taking notices,” he said.

He also strongly criticised Prime Minister Imran Khan for calling the notorious terrorist Osama Bin Laden, a “Shaheed”.

Bilawal said that Imran Khan used to criticise previous governments for petrol levy but his own government even before the budget was passed announced an unprecedented increase in petrol price. “This petrol bomb for people was introduced at a time when Pakistan is facing global recession, COVID-19 and locust attack which has destroyed growers of Pakistan,” he said.

He said this increase is illegal and callous as Ogra was not consulted and the notification was not issued by Ogra. He asked how a minister can issue the notification of petrol price increase which is totally illegal. He said that the government has robbed the people of Pakistan instead of giving them relief.

The PPP chairman said that the government is putting blame of plane crash in Karachi on the pilot and the air traffic controller just to hide its own failures.

He said the opposition had asked the government to keep suspending the flights until COVID-19 is under control but the government did not listen.

He said the aviation minister said that the pilots were talking about corona before the plane went down. “The aviation minister also said that there are fake degrees of pilots but the degree of the aviation minister was proved to be fake and he had left PPP and joined the PML-Q and then PTI. “How a fake degree holder can accuse the pilots of fake degrees,” he asked.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that this government thinks that every employment is political. He said this callous government refuses to increase the salaries and pensions of its own government employees. Now Pakistan is being defamed in all over the world. “Sweden did not lockdown and the number of deaths in Sweden is very high and now similar strategy is being practised in Pakistan,” he said.

He said the people of Sindh are facing power cuts on a regular basis but the federal government is unmoved. “Our people are facing difficulties but the government is not providing them health facilities and power. We had asked government to tax rich but it has taxed poor people of Pakistan,” he said.

The PPP chairman said that this budget cannot deal with the COVID-19, locust attacks, agriculture sector problems and sagging economy. “The mantra of government is only “thief, thief” but none of the cases have been proved in any court of law. PPP members have been absolved in all the cases against them,” he said.

Recently, he said former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was absolved of any wrongdoing in rental power case so government should apologise to him.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari very strongly condemned Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had called the notorious and disreputable terrorist Osama Bin Laden who martyred thousands of soldiers, men, women and children in Pakistan, a Shaheed. Imran Khan does not call Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed who was killed by terrorists.

The speaker expunged a word used by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for Imran Khan in his speech and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari protested with the Speaker saying that he did not expunge the word Shaheed used for Osama Bin Laden by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In his fiery speech, Khawaja Asif said the PTI government needed to be stop from causing damage to the country.

He came hard on Prime Minister Imran Khan for calling Osama Bin Laden as a ‘martyr’ and said that May Almighty Allah save us from terrorists and their supporters. He mentioned the illegal arrest of Editor-in-Chief of Geo and Jang Group Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman and said owner of the biggest media was behind the bars for more than 100 days. “The way the voices of media was being muzzled which did not suit those who claims to be democrats. If the media voice was muted and restricted, it was shame for the society,” he said.

He also castigated the government for not raising the salaries and pensions of government employees. He said the government has increased the prices of petrol at Rs100 per litre and now after the petrol bomb they will now drop the bomb of electricity and gas on the people.

He said the artificial shortage of the petrol created and when prices were increase the petrol instantly available in the petrol pumps. “The huge profit was earned through windfall increase in the petroleum products,” he said.

He said the mafias were given benefits but not the people of Pakistan. He said those talk about the fake degrees of pilots but forget to tell about his degree. During the speech of Khawaja Asif, Minister of Science of Technology had intervened by asking to cut short his speech and both had exchanged hot words.

Khawaja Muhammad Asif responded that he will say such a thing about him that he will find it difficult to remain seated in this House.

On which Fawad Chaudhry said they did not sit there to listen to the issue of his constituency. “He was violating the rules,” he said. Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar asked Fawad Chaudhry to have patience. Khawaja Asif asked the Speaker that he will tell in his chamber why he was so disturbed.

Speaker pacifies the situation and asked Khawaja Muhammad Asif to continue his speech with remaining on subject. While continuing his speech, he said European Union has banned the entry of Pakistanis due to COVID-19. “The government did not take the issue of COVID-19 seriously,” he said.

He said the prime minister has stated on Sunday that there was no choice except him. “No one is indispensable in this world. When someone started to assume him indispensable, his downfall starts,” he said.

He said the government should provide relief to the masses. He said media voices were being gagged and it did not suit for those who claims being democrats.

Meanwhile, Minister for Kashmir Affairs Al Amin Gandapur and JUI-F parliamentarian Maulana Asad Mahmood came face to face in the National Assembly as the latter repeated his challenge to the minister to resign as parliamentarian and contest by-election against him.

The verbal clash between members erupted when the minister interrupted speech of the JUI-F leader before passage of the budget. “I know your character. It was not me who was running on streets of Banigala while carrying bottles of honey, “Asad Mahmood while addressing the minister said.

The JUI-F chief said nobody could dare make any compromise on Kashmir when Maulana Fazlur Rehman was chairman of the Kashmir Committee. He said he would challenge that the minister could not even name capitals of Azad Kashmir and Indian Occupied Kashmir.