Lahore: Punjab Information and Culture Minister Azma Bokhari on Saturday said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari should first seek the resignations of his father and the Chairman Senate before predicting the downfall of the federal government.
In a statement, she said Bilawal appeared unsettled by the performance of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, adding that his recent speeches reflected frustration. She said the Pakistan Muslim League (N) would not remain silent if its leadership was targeted.
Azma Bokhari said Maryam Nawaz could be the PML-N’s candidate for the office of Prime Minister in the next general elections, adding that the party was prepared for both reconciliation and political confrontation with the PPP.
She criticized Bilawal’s political tone, saying he lacked restraint in his choice of words. Referring to the Charter of Democracy, she said it appeared Bilawal himself had disregarded its spirit. She added that the PML-N ignored most of his statements and responded only when political boundaries were crossed.
The minister said every political party had its own history, including the PPP, and therefore she was refraining from commenting further. She alleged that if opposition candidates had to disappear for Bilawal to secure his family’s seat in Nawabshah, and if local government elections in Sindh were conducted in the manner witnessed by the world, then the feudal elite of Sindh should first free the people of interior Sindh from police dominance before speaking about democracy and elections.
Commenting on the political situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, she claimed the PPP had failed to win refugee seats over the past four decades and would face another defeat in the upcoming polls. She urged political leaders to focus on addressing public issues instead of engaging in personal attacks.
Azma Bokhari said Bilawal should first ensure the resignation of all those holding constitutional offices that he considered illegitimate. She pointed out that the same parliamentary majority had elected the President, while the Chairman Senate, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Governor of Punjab also held office under the existing political arrangement. She argued that if the government was truly considered illegitimate, its coalition partners should be the first to relinquish their positions.
The minister also criticized the civic condition of Karachi, saying she had visited the city about one and a half months ago and found it in a worse state than before. She said even areas near the Italian Embassy were littered with garbage, adding that such conditions created a poor impression before foreign diplomatic missions. She urged the Sindh government to at least ensure cleanliness around diplomatic missions.
Reaffirming her party’s position, Azma Bokhari said Maryam Nawaz Sharif was the future of the PML-N and could be its candidate for Prime Minister. She added that the party would decide the appropriate constituency for her to contest, but maintained there was no doubt that Maryam Nawaz’s performance during the past two and a quarter years as Punjab Chief Minister had become the backbone of the party’s political strength.