Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday praised the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a coalition partner of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), for demanding the production order of former president Asif Ali Zardari.
“I must appreciate the MQM for speaking up for [a] democratic constitutional right regardless of political differences. On the floor of the house yesterday they demanded the production order of [former] President Zardari,” he tweeted.
Bilawal asserted that the former president was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) so that the incumbent government of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) could succeed in having the budget for the new fiscal year passed.
“The people of Nawabshah [have been] deprived of their right to be represented in [the] budget process. [For the] First time in the history of Pakistan four members arrested & not produced for NA,” he added. “Innocent until proven guilty is a right not a privilege.”
On June 10, Zardari — the co-chairman of the PPP — was arrested hours after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) recalled the pre-arrest bail granted to him and his sister Faryal Talpur in the fake accounts case.
He was taken into custody from his residence in Islamabad while his sister Talpur was arrested on June 18.
On Tuesday, Bilawal said the second letter written to the National Assembly speaker for issuing the production orders of detained lawmakers also carried the signatures of MNAs belonging to the MQM-P.
He added that Moonis Elahi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) had also assured him that his party supported the opposition’s stance on the matter.
The PPP chairman accused the government of resorting to dirty tactics to have the budget passed, noting that the opposition leader in the National Assembly was not even allowed to speak in the house.
He maintained that the production orders of Zardari, Mohsin Dawar, Ali Wazir and Khawaja Saad Rafique were not being issued to prevent them from voting on the budget.
MQM ministry
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Bilawal said he welcomed the government’s decision to give another ministry to the MQM-P.
“I am glad that a lawmaker from my province [Sindh] is being given a ministry,” he remarked.
The PPP chairman said Prime Minister Imran Khan should fulfill the promises he had made, especially about the development of Karachi.
“He [the prime minister] had announced a development package for Karachi but the city hasn’t been provided with the funds it requires,” he maintained.“The prime minister had also promised that a desalination plant would be set up in the city. The Sindh government wants to cooperate with the centre for the project but the prime minister doesn’t seem interested anymore.”According to reports, Prime Minister Imran Khan had promised to give the MQM-P another ministry in a meeting with party leaders that was also attended by Sindh Governor Imran Ismail.
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