Umar Rehman Malik lauds Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s speech in National Assembly

Abdullah Jan

Islamabad: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Umar Rehman Malik this week lauded PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s speech in the National Assembly.

“Bilawal Bhutto Zardari delivered a compelling speech in the National Assembly, eloquently addressing the nation’s challenges,” he said in a statement.

Umar Rehman Malik added: “Bilawal Bhutto Zardari urged the opposition to prioritize solutions for the country’s issues over personal matters. His proposals, including the implementation of a ‘kisan card’ and the declaration of an ‘agriculture emergency’ as a 10-year policy, offer promising solutions to address the persistent problems faced by our hardworking farmers.”

Earlier PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari lambasted the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) for inviting “interference from the same people” that its leaders recently “lectured” on the importance of upholding the Constitution.

Speaking in the National Assembly, Bilawal, questioned why their party’s leadership wanted to have a dialogue with the military establishment but not political parties.

“While upholding the Constitution, they do not talk with politicians,” he said. “To uphold the Constitution, they are making the same people — who the opposition leader (Omar Ayub) was lecturing […] that do not interfere in politics — interfere by forcefully grabbing their feet.”

In April, former premier Imran Khan had said some PTI leaders were still in contact with the establishment but then party leader Gohar Khan had denied any “secret talks”.

This month, Imran Khan had linked any potential dialogue with the return of his party’s “stolen mandate” and the release of “innocent imprisoned workers”.

Last Monday, he had said he would not seek a deal to leave the country while the next day, he signalled a willingness to engage in reconciliation talks with the ruling coalition, but only if certain tough conditions were met.

Bilawal said, “They talk one thing, but their politics is different. According to them, they are fighting for the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law and haqeeqi azadi, [but] they only want to talk with our armies.”

At the outset of his speech, Bilawal called for the PTI to fulfil its role in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where it is in power, adding that it was instead “only crying about their own matters”, causing an uproar among the opposition benches.

Detailing the PPP’s work, he said, “The province of Sindh invites the PTI and their government to come and visit our hospitals; we would show them and teach them how free and quality treatment is provided to the poor public.

“We are ready to work with your government as well that there should be free and quality treatment in Peshawar such as the NICVD (National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases),” he added.