PPP, PTI trade barbs as AJK poll campaigns heat up

Ag APP

RAWALAKOT: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday unleashed a torrent of criticism on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) policies towards Kashmir, vowing his party would win the Azad Jammu and Kashmir elections, while government ministers hit back, criticising the PPP chief’s “obliviousness” of his party’s position in the territory.

The remarks come as election campaigns heat up for the 11th General Elections of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which will be held on July 25.

In a speech in Rawalakot, Bilawal followed up with his criticism from a day before in Kotli, in which he called Prime Minister Imran Khan a “security risk” for his remarks on the country’s nuclear programme. Khan had said in his Axios interview that once the Kashmir issue was resolved, there would be no need for a nuclear program.

“The puppet Prime Minister first sold out Kashmir, then got an NRO for [Indian spy] Kulbhushan [Jadhav], and now he is [going] after Pakistan’s nuclear program.”

He went on to say the Prime Minister used to say that he wanted to be the ambassador of Kashmir, “but now he has become Kulbhushan’s lawyer”. Bilawal said: “On July 25, the people of Kashmir will send a message to the world that the people of Kashmir are with democracy, not with any puppet.”

He also said: “When there is a historic attack on Kashmir, Imran stands in parliament and says, ‘What should I do?’ The whole world condemns this attack but Imran Khan’s response is that we will stand on the streets every Friday to show solidarity and that promise has not been fulfilled.”

He said: “We have to send a message to Islamabad and Bani Gala that we are no longer following the diktats of a puppet Prime Minister, but the decisions of Kashmir will be taken only by the people of Kashmir.”

Earlier, Bilawal told Geo News that his party would form a government in Azad Kashmir. The PPP leader lashed out at Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying that he had always criticised his policy for Kashmir and his attitude towards the region. “There is a clear difference between the attitude of Imran Khan and the prime ministers before him,” he said. “I have full faith in the PPP candidates (of Azad Kashmir). They will stand by us,” he added. “We believe in our party’s strength and that our candidates have what it takes to form PPP’s government in Kashmir.”

Responding to Bilawal, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the PPP Chairman was “oblivious” to his party position in AJK as only eight candidates are contesting the upcoming elections on PPP tickets. Chaudhry tweeted that Bilawal’s speech “has clearly revealed the reality that he does not know about his party’s position in AJK”.

He recalled that Bilawal and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz had run their respective parties’ election campaigns vigorously in the last elections of Gilgit-Baltistan. “However it was revealed subsequently that not even one-third among the total aspirants were contesting the elections on the tickets of both PPP and PML-N at that time.”

Separately, Minister for Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan Affairs Ali Amin Gandapur said: “Political parties need candidates to win the elections. But in the case of PPP, it does not have the numbers to contest 50 per cent seats in the AJK polls.”

Gandapur advised Bilawal to refrain from making “loud speeches” in the AJK elections campaign as his party was destined for defeat in the polls. “The people of Kashmir are well aware of the corruption of PPP former prime minister of Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Majeed and Bilawal’s aunt Faryal Talpur,” he claimed, adding Kashmiris would never allow Kashmir “to become Larkana and Thar”.