Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing the National Assembly today said that there is a proverb in the English language, ‘History repeats itself, first as a tragedy and then as a farce’. We have reached the farcical stage in Pakistan’s long and arduous democratic journey. Chairman PPP said that he belongs to the third generation of elected representatives from his family. Chairman PPP said that the foundation stone of the building of the National Assembly was laid by Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The hall of the National Assembly belongs to all, and it is the mother of all institutions. The members of the House should come to the realisation that strengthening this institution amounts to strengthening the people, and weakening it weakens not only the members, but the federation and the entire democratic system.
Chairman Bilawal, as a representative of the youth of the country said that he appeals to his elders, those who have become members numerous times before, to take decisions that allow for the coming generations to have bright futures. We should take decisions that ease the path towards the Parliament, for the youngsters who wish to represent their people in this House as members and politicians. We should be lauded by the coming generations of members for our commitment, not be bashed by them for weakening our own institutions.
Chairman Bilawal said that the manner in which the members of the House were conducting themselves under the garb of protest during the speeches of the PM and the Opposition Leader was disappointing. The people of Pakistan would be disappointed after witnessing this. They are looking at us with hope-filled eyes. Pakistan has reached an alarming stage. The people of Pakistan have voted in the elections to be rid of the pain they face due to the plethora of economic crises we face. The PM talked about his plan in his speech, while the Opposition Leader talked about his issues, however the point was not conveyed to the people of Pakistan as the backbenchers from both the sides were protesting. The Opposition Leader has raised the objection that his speech was not aired on PTV. This trend, that was initiated by Imran Khan should no longer continue, and the speeches of the members should be aired live.
Chairman Bilawal said that the PPP did not reach the Assembly due to forms 45 and 47, but because of the blood and sweat of the workers of the Party. Shaheed Abdul Wahid Awan, Shaheed Sabir Magsi and Shaheed Abdul Rehman sacrificed their lives for us to reach this House. Shaheed Abdul Rehman, who belonged to Karachi was a twelve year old child, who was martyred by a shot to the head, because the enemies of the PPP wanted to intimidate its voters. In Moro, a worker by the name of Bilal Zardari was martyred during the elections. Mansoor Ali was martyred in Naushahro Feroze. Raza Khoso was martyred in Mirpurkhas. In Balochistan, the PPP’s candidates were subjected to violence through grenade attacks. Zahoor Buledi from Turbat faced two grenade attacks during the election. Mir Asghar Rind of the PPP faced a similar attack in Mand. Ali Madad Jattak’s office was attacked by a bomb blast in Quetta, injuring two. Our candidates in Mastung, Khuzdar and Kachhi were too subjected to attacks. Shaheed Abdul Malik from Sanghar too sacrificed his life. Elections in Pakistan lead to our workers being martyred, and this is strongly condemned. In my first address in the previous assembly as well, I had condemned the fatal attacks on Haroon Bilour and Siraj Raisani, and am proud to see the latter’s son in the National Assembly as the youngest representative, Chairman Bilawal said.
Chairman Bilawal said that one life is too many lives. He proposed the formation of a system that allows for the elections to be conducted without workers sacrificing their lives just for an election. “As a member of the House, I would like for us to achieve feats that can be conveyed to the families of the martyrs to let them know that the sacrifices of their loved ones are not in vain”, Chairman PPP said.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari extended felicitations to PM Shehbaz Sharif, the Opposition Leader, CM KP Ali Amin Gandapur, CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah and CM Balochistan Sarfaraz Bugti. Chairman Bilawal said that the people are looking towards them, and they all have to play their role in saving the country, its democracy, economy and federation. If our counterparts had listened to the speech of the PM yesterday, they would get to know that we are making efforts to address the crises created. The PM offered to work on a ‘Charter of National Reconciliation’ which the PPP too had advised. We do not only endorse this, but also appeal to our fellows in the opposition to participate in this process. We can solve most of the country’s issues if we make a system in which everyone agrees to the rules of the game and the code of conduct. A ‘Charter of Economy’ was also mentioned and it is incredibly vital. No single party has the mandate to make decisions on its own, the people of Pakistan have made a decision that compels the parties to collaborate. Addressing the opposition, Chairman Bilawal said that it cannot attain its goal without the PPP’s votes even if it is able to bag the reserved seats. The people of Pakistan are sending us the message that they are done with our squabbles. Hence, be it the ‘Charter of National Reconciliation’ or the ‘Charter of Economy’, we have to engage with one another. If the opposition truly represents the people, then it should realise that they are fed up with the crippling inflation and economic difficulties. They have not voted for their representatives to only abuse each other and make needless hue and cry. The people of Pakistan have voted solely for us to save them from the economic quandary, Chairman PPP asserted.
Chairman Bilawal said that approximately five years ago, 10kg of wheat flour would cost less than Rs. 400, today it costs more than Rs. 1400. Similarly, prices of milk, edible oil and lentils have all increased by 113 percent, 217 percent and 353 percent respectively. These numbers are not updated, and may have increased. About nine years ago, a poor family with a joint income of Rs. 35000 could buy sufficient amounts of flour, edible oil and other food items to provide nutritious food to their family, afford a two-room house, put their children through school, and have enough savings for either a medical emergency or recreation. Keeping in mind the previous year, the same family would need a joint income of Rs. 70,000 to fulfil these needs. The costs are increasing with no increase in income. We have reached this extreme financial crisis, part of which is owed to external factors such as the current international scenario but also the decisions we have taken. If all the political stakeholders of the House sit together, then whatever economic policy is brought forth by the PM would be improved through the input given by them. If the opposition refuses to engage and avail the opportunity given to it to let its opinion be counted, then it cannot criticise the policy curated later. We are all inviting the opposition to help the people emerge from this economic plight. “My advice to our colleagues would be to support us, at least where the economy is concerned”, Chairman Bilawal said.
Chairman Bilawal said that the PPP’s only narrative has been to contest the elections based on its manifesto. “Omar Ayub may not be as well-versed with his manifesto as I am with mine”, Chairman Bilawal expressed. He said that it pleases him greatly to see that most political parties have agreed to 80 percent of the points raised in the PPP’s manifesto. Representatives of Punjab, the federation and the opposition are making speeches and policy statements that seem to be a good omen for the points raised by the PPP’s document to be implemented. Adding to the PM’s speech from yesterday, Chairman Bilawal said that fiscal space can be created to a great extent. It was said that the federal government runs on loans after the NFC awards given to the provinces. This may be true, but not only because the provinces are getting their due share after the NFC awards, but because the governments of Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan after 2013 did not take the necessary steps following the 18th Amendment. They failed to devolve the ministries that had to be devolved by 2015. Now, doubling is taking place and the bureaucrats sitting in the capital have been telling the governments that the federal government is left with nothing after giving to the provinces. The truth is that 18 ministries had to be devolved in 2015 and the annual cost to run them is 308 billion rupees. Had they been devolved in 2015, then we could have addressed the PIA issue among others with the same amount.
Chairman Bilawal said that the PPP will not have a share in the ministries this time. During the election campaign, upon raising these issues, we would be met with speculation as people would question our ability to take these steps due to a probable coalition government. Now is the opportunity for Shehbaz Sharif to take this revolutionary step and initiate the process of the devolution of these ministries. Chairman PPP said that he is greatly pleased by PM Shehbaz’s mention of giving subsidies directly to the farmers instead of fertiliser companies which was included in the 10-point agenda of the PPP. The federal government gives subsidies to fertiliser and energy companies, the elite, and when tallied, this amount reaches the figure of 1500 billion rupees. We cannot afford to be a social welfare state for the rich, Chairman Bilawal said while addressing the Speaker. The money saved through these measures will hopefully help create space for the relief demanded by the people of Pakistan.
Chairman Bilawal said that the provinces made provincial revenue boards when the sales tax on services was abolished. He said that the collection of sales tax on services of all the provinces defeats that of the federal government. We perform, and the FBR fails each time. The FBR has been collecting the sales tax on goods till now. Chairman PPP said that he had given the same proposal to Hammad Azhar, and is now conveying it to the current government, to give the provinces the responsibility to collect the sales tax on goods. We should set a target for the collection of the tax, and if it is not met, then the provinces can account for the gap through their own budget. If the provinces exceed the set target, then the extra profit can be given to the provinces as a motivating factor. The provincial revenue boards will outperform that of the federation.
Chairman PPP said that the people of Pakistan hope for us to derive solutions to their problems. It is imperative that we carry out judicial and electoral reforms. We have not been able to make judicial reforms since the Charter of Democracy, and we would like to invite our fellows from the opposition to sit with us over these two issues. If we address these two issues related to the judiciary and the elections, then no power in the world can weaken the democracy of Pakistan. As far as the elections are concerned, not many are aware of the extent to which the workers of the PPP suffer for the sake of democracy. When the PPP would present its objections, it would be met with criticism. We would be mocked for raising questions over the Form 45. We will not do the same. It is time that we address these issues. “When I am elected for the third time, I would not want for the Assembly to witness the same hue and cry”, Chairman Bilawal said. For this, the PPP is present for both PM Shehbaz Sharif and Omar Ayub to once and for all address the irregularities in the elections.
Chairman Bilawal further said that he condemns the comparison made with Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto over the cipher issue. During the process of his judicial murder, within the court, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had said that he would take the secrets of the country to his grave but never compromise on the national security of Pakistan. “Having served as the Foreign Minister, I am privy to the intricacies involved and one copy of the cipher is with the Foreign Office, while others are sent to different officials”, Chairman Bilawal said. Every copy is accounted for, except for the one that was with the Prime Minister House. Had Imran Khan himself not accepted it on television that he lost his copy, then one would consider the opposition’s excuse that the responsibility lies solely with the bureaucrats. Imran Khan himself admitted that he lost a confidential, national security document of the Government of Pakistan, which is encrypted. The enemy of Pakistan can crack the code of the country, and break into all the other ciphers. As the PM of Pakistan, Imran Khan was privy to this. The tapes that were leaked made it apparent to all that ‘politics was to be played’ over this matter. The intelligence agencies of the US raided Donald Trump’s residence to retrieve confidential documents and filed a case against him. We did not suggest the same. The day after Imran Khan’s arrest, that alleged cipher was printed in an international publication. “If you think that the people of Pakistan are a fool, then you are wrong”, Chairman Bilawal said. We all know that the alleged copy of the cipher was printed in an international publication for the sake of politics and to make the corruption cases controversial in this manner. When such a document is publicised in an international publication, it amounts to comprising the national security of Pakistan. This is condemnable and should be pursued in accordance with the law. We should all ensure that we abide by the oath we have taken. Those violating the Constitution should be punished. The Constitution was violated when the House was dissolved during the no-confidence motion.
Chairman Bilawal said that if he is schooled over the Constitution and the democracy by them, all he would say is, ‘Who the hell are you to talk to me?”. “I am the grandson of the man who accepted being sent to the gallows, but did not compromise on his principles, those who are protesting today have only recently started talking about the democracy and the Constitution. They are in no position to give us a lecture on these matters”, Chairman Bilawal said. They believe that they can make false accusations and not receive a response. We will not only respond, but expose their lies. When they have a valid complaint, they would see that we would be the first ones to support them. However, if they abrogate the Constitution and attempt to subvert democracy, we would be the first to stand in their way. We are not to be disappointed by such antics, but the people of Pakistan are not pleased by them. Chairman PPP said that if PM Sharif’s government takes a step against the opposition that is against the Constitution or democracy, then we would defend it. However, if the opposition attempts to take undemocratic and unconstitutional steps, then we would become an obstacle for them. No matter how many resolutions are passed to stop interference in the democratic system, we cannot attain this motive until politicians do not respect one another and operate within their constitutional domain. We should not expect the judiciary and other institutions to work within their constitutional boundaries if we do not respect them ourselves.
Chairman PPP said that the CM KP, Ali Amin Gandapur’s has demanded an inquiry into the events of May 9. We endorse this demand over the condition that we would be assured by the PTI that the decision made by the judicial commission is acceptable to all. It cannot be that the country forgets that its institutions and memorials of martyrs were attacked. The politics of the country will not be able to progress until we address this issue. Due to this reason, the PPP appeals to the PM to approach Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to head the judicial commission on May 9 so that the perpetrators are punished. Chairman Bilawal concluded his speech by wishing PM Sharif good luck.