Imran desperately wants umpire to raise his finger: Bilawal

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said the PTI Chairman Imran Khan is waiting for the umpire to raise his finger by any means, Geo News reported on Friday.

“Khan Sahib desperately seeks any umpire to raise his finger, whether forcibly,” he said, in an exclusive interview with Geo News. “However, Imran’s effort regarding the umpire’s finger is bound to fail.”

The PTI takes a U-turn after a U-turn, he said. “At first, the PTI tendered resignations, saying that they are prepared for elections. However, when some of their resignations were accepted, Khan Sahib said his party will contest elections from each seat,” Bilawal explained.

Taking a jibe at the PTI chief, Bilawal said Imran Khan ran away from the Lyari elections, where his competition was with PPP’s Nabil Gabol. At first, Imran Khan demanded the PTI’s resignations be accepted, the PPP chief said. However, when the government started accepting resignations, the PTI approached courts. Bilawal said it was time the courts decided how long they will treat Imran Khan as their favourite.

He said the court will have to follow the law and the Constitution. It would be inappropriate for the court to give a verdict to benefit Imran Khan and save him from a defeat in elections, he remarked.

“How long will the law run as per the wishes of the favourite [Imran]?” he asked. The establishment can’t conduct itself at the behest of ladla [Imran], he asserted. The PPP chief called upon Imran Khan to trust the masses if he was geared up for the elections. However, he said, “We are busy with the flood relief efforts, not electioneering.”

Imran Khan cannot contest by-elections on 13 seats and at the same time, demand general elections, he claimed. “How could he demand the general elections?”

He said Imran Khan aims to even destroy democracy if he wasn’t the prime minister. “Imran Khan’s game-plan is that he will not let anyone else play if he is not in the game,” he said. The PPP leader told the PTI chief: “You may protest, launch long march. However, a third of the nation is currently under water.”

He lamented that Imran Khan prefers politics rather than working for the flood situation in the country. Pressing ahead to demand pre-elections is tantamount to leaving humanity in the lurch, he emphasised, hoping that no institution will take the bait from him.

The PPP chief said the flood victims are calling out for help but Imran Khan was busy with his politics. “All big claims and long marches by Imran Khan fizzled out. He remained unsuccessful in his previous attempts. He will inevitably face failure this time around, too,” he said.

Referring to the appointment of the next army chief, he said the November decision will be made in consonance with the law and Constitution. He highlighted November will not witness any major storm or a cataclysmic monsoon as the month will pass like other months in the calendar. Imran wants to use November for his politics, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, in a bid to help Pakistan tackle the ongoing climate-induced catastrophe, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock Friday announced 10 million euros in flood-relief support. The announcement came as Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari — who is on a two-day visit to Germany — and Baerbock addressed a press conference in Berlin.

The floods have impacted 33 million people out of a population of 220 million, and caused damage the government estimates at $30 billion as crops, roads, livestock, bridges, houses, schools, and medical facilities were washed away.

Expressing sympathy with the families that have suffered due to the devastating floods, the German foreign minister said Pakistan is the “most-affected country” by climate change.

Baerbock said the current devastation in Pakistan — which is among the lowest contributors of carbon emissions — is a reminder to the world about the dramatic consequences of climate change.

On bilateral relations, the German foreign minister said that Berlin intends to diversify its relations with Islamabad in economic spheres and is also looking forward to investing in Pakistan, particularly in infrastructural projects.

Speaking on the occasion, Bilawal called for translating the decades of goodwill and cooperation between Pakistan and Germany into a synergetic partnership for benefit of both countries. Talking about recent floods, he said the climate catastrophe in Pakistan cannot be defined in words, as one-third of the country is under water, and one in seven Pakistanis is affected. The foreign minister said the floods have destroyed over a million houses and the country is also facing a looming food crisis due to it.