Imran has only lied, taken u-turns: Bilawal

BANNU: Pakistan Peoples Party Chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari came down hard on political rivals Imran Khan, Nawaz Sharif and Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman on Saturday.

While addressing the public in Bannu, Bilawal alleged that Imran had only taken u-turns and lied over the course of his political career. 

"If an annual festival of liars were to take place, Imran would be given the biggest crown," he said. 

Shifting the guns at Nawaz, the PPP chief said that the PML-N leader, who has called others puppets, is trying to find his puppeteer. He also criticised JUI-F Chief Rehman for opposing the merger of KP and FATA.

"What enemity do you have with the people of FATA, Maulana Sahib?" Bilawal said. 

Bilawal, during his address, said that peace in Pakistan could not be established till the time Taliban are continued to be considered estranged brothers and stressed on 'one law for all.' 

"Be it Musharraf or ordinary terrorists, [accused persons] should be first arrested and then legal proceedings should be took up against them," he said.

"Terrorism cannot be curbed if people go missing and target killing is rampant," he said. "Terrorism is neither an issue only linked to Naqeebullah Mehsud's murder nor a case of a target killer, it is the problem of the entire country." 

Highlighting his party's ties with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Bilawal said that his party has had a long-standing relation with the province. He further said that it was PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who had announced to demolish the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR)from Malakand Division during his speech there. 

He added the brave people of KP have been fighting for a long time as the valley of fragrance has been turned into one of blood. 

To solve the issues of KP a court is needed that could impart justice, the PPP chairperson said.

“We need a police force that people could trust and institutes that ensure rule of law,” he added. “I trust our police be it of KP, Punjab, Balochistan or Sindh as they all have made sacrifices and fought terrorists with valour.”

Bilawal said police was the country’s frontline, which ought to be strengthened on the whole as every street cannot have a soldier deployed. 

Speaking about war against terrorism, Bilawal said it was his party that brought together the entire Parliament and united people for the sake of sustainable peace in Swat that was taken over by terrorists soon after Benazir Bhutto’s martyrdom.

The PPP chairperson also claimed of repatriating the nearly 2.5 million internally displaced persons to their native areas within three months. 

Bilawal said that the time had come to show the province's ruling party that the public had seen its real face. 

He stressed that the public was not concerned about why political leaders were disqualified from public office. The PPP chief was referring to PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif's questions about his disqualification following the July 28 Panama verdict by the Supreme Court. 

"The people just want their problems to be solved. The people just want roti (food), kapra (clothing), and makan (shelter)," Bilawal said.   

Bilawal is flanked by other party leaders such as Anwar Saifullah Khan, Sher Azam Wazir, Humayun Khan, Senator Rubina Khalid and Faisal Kundi.

Party supporters from different areas have come to Bannu to attend the rally and show their support for their leader. 

As many as 400 police officers were deployed for security purposes. 

On March 18, Bilawal had questioned former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's slogan of 'respecting the vote'.

Nawaz, who was disqualified as premier and head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz by the Supreme Court in separate cases, has been raising the slogan of respecting the vote.

Addressing party supporters in Kotli Sattian, the PPP chairman recalled the relationship of the tehsil with the party.

"Nawaz thinks democracy linked to him only," he said, terming the former prime minister Gen (retd) Ziaul Haq's "opening batsmen".

In an apparent jibe at Nawaz's daughter Maryam, Bilawal said: "look now, we have stopped you". 

Referring to Nawaz's recent tirade against the opposition parties, Bilawal said the PML-N leader, and not the PPP leader, is the biggest wound up toy, whose key is broken at present.