ISLAMABAD – Pakistan People’s Party leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said yesterday that former President Asif Ali Zardari and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could not be compared as one was strong in the country while the another led a luxury life abroad.

Speaking at a press conference here, Bilawal said that even the law for a former prime minister from Raiwind and a former president from Nawabshah was different.

“The former prime minister of Raiwind (Nawaz Sharif) despite a conviction has been allowed to live abroad and the former president of Nawabshah (Asif Ali Zardari) still lives in the country and refuses to go abroad for treatment. There is a Pakistan for the opposition leader of Raiwind (Shehbaz Sharif) and another for the opposition leader of Sukkur (Khurshid Shah) who was thrown from pillar to post just to get bail for more than two years, ”he said.

Farhatullah Babar, Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari, Senator Palwasha Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi were also present on the occasion.

The head of the PPP alleged that the federal government had ruined the country’s economy. “When your economy improves, you will increase the salaries of government employees by 100%, retirees by 150% and the salaries of soldiers by 175%. We hope that if there is money, all the problems including hunger, poverty, housing and unemployment will be solved within a week, ”he said.

Despite the inappropriate behavior of some members of the PML-N (Muslim League of Pakistan – Nawaz), the PPP still wishes to cooperate in parliament with the leader of the opposition (Shehbaz Sharif). All the members of the PPP will support the leader of the opposition (in the National Assembly) to thwart the next budget ”, he assured.

“Now everyone, including (Finance Minister) Shaukat Tarin, has started to admit the truth of the PPP position. Former President Zardari used to say that the NAB (National Accountability Bureau) and the economy cannot go hand in hand, and now the government has accepted it. The Minister of Finance himself says that the agreement with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) was bad. If that’s wrong, why are you still at the IMF, ”he asked.

The PPP chairman said the prime minister was singing the tune of mafia and corruption again. “Now the Prime Minister says if he gets the next term there will be accountability, which is a joke. The Prime Minister had said he wanted Pakistan to be one. However, there is a dual system here and he is one of the beneficiaries. There is political revenge and political engineering on the part of this government. It is not a fair system.

I ask the Prime Minister where is the responsibility and where is the justice? If the Prime Minister’s friends are accused, they will not go to jail. If the Prime Minister himself is accused, nothing happens. If the Prime Minister’s sister is accused, nothing happens, ”he added. Bilawal said the people will hold the government accountable.

“The people are suffering because of this failed government. Parents, who cannot prevent their children from being deprived of education, cannot provide bread and water because of this selected government; will not spare the Prime Minister, ”he added.

The PPP, he said, believed in the people and in parliament. If the opposition parties do not have the power to overthrow this government, then there will be elections and then the people will grab their members by the neck. The whole nation is focused on the economy of the country.

He said the Prime Minister or his ministers had nothing to do with the common man. “The government of Pakistan is unaware of the plight of the common man in all areas. The Prime Minister says the hard times are over, but that is only the case for his automated teller machine (ATM), “he added.

On the other hand, he said, the days of the common man were getting worse than before and the Prime Minister claims the economy was growing.

“Inflation in Pakistan is higher than in all of South Asia, but the Prime Minister says the economy is growing. People don’t have two meals a day; the common man does not even have money for medicine and education. I would like the Prime Minister to know what the public’s problems are. If the economy is growing, then why are you begging the world and why don’t you kick the IMF out, ”he asked.

Bilawal said that when the prime minister claims gross domestic product is increasing, then “why beg from Islamic countries”.

The leader of the PPP said the leaders were afraid of the people and still today they are fleeing the elections in Azad Jammu Kashmir. “They also tried to stir up trouble in the Senate, but the Election Commission took a stand and did not allow the rigging. Now that efforts are being made to bring about electoral reforms through ordinances, the Election Commission must take action. We will send a high-level delegation to the electoral commission to thwart this attempted fraud, ”he said.

The PPP chairman said the media ordinance was an attempt to control media like Ziaul Haq. “We condemned the attack on Assad Toor and the petition against Asma Shirazi and Hamid Mir. The government is showing its weakness in not being able to tolerate the truth, ”he said.

Bilawal requested a briefing on the situation in Afghanistan. “We demand that you create a forum, be it a parliamentary committee or a president, to give Parliament confidence. The decision on Afghanistan now rests with the people through parliament, ”he said.

To question, Bilawal said Pakistan Democratic Movement chairman Maulana Fazlur Rehman had the right to have his point of view. “The PPP has a three-generation political relationship with Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Despite the inappropriate behavior of some members of the PML-N (Muslim League of Pakistan – Nawaz), the PPP still wishes to cooperate in parliament with the leader of the opposition (Shehbaz Sharif). All the members of the PPP will support the leader of the opposition (in the National Assembly) to thwart the next budget ”, he assured.

The PPP leader said that if the PDM parties had been sincere in their determination to resign, they would have resigned the next day when “we did not agree to link a long march to resignations”.

If they were to resign, he said, “they should have resigned by then and they can always resign if they wish. The Punjab has been left at the mercy of (Chief Minister) Usman Buzdar. Equitable distribution of water is essential not only for Sindh but for the whole country. The government facilitators are those who do not want to dislodge Imran and Buzdar despite the fact that the figures are there in parliament to do so, ”he said.

Bilawal accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of not playing during the coronavirus pandemic. “The government has raised funds from many organizations to help the country recover from its health and economic crisis caused by the virus. However, given the current state of the nation, it is evident that the funds have been used elsewhere.

He called on the prime minister to stop manipulating the data in the Auditor General’s report and release it immediately. Only then will the nation be able to decide on the judicious use of these funds.

“To fight the coronavirus epidemic, the IMF gave Pakistan a billion and a half dollars. Where was this aid spent? Asked the president of the PPP.

“Where was the $ 1.5 billion provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) spent? Where did Imran Khan use up the $ 200 million donated by the World Bank? he ordered. “Where are the billions of Pakistani rupees deposited in the Prime Minister’s Corona Relief Fund,” he said.