- KP govt urged to prioritise worsening security challenges.
- Governor’s rule should be constitutional last resort: Bilawal.
- Says emergency should follow failed political efforts only.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called for a written agreement between the Centre and provinces to jointly combat terrorism.
Addressing an inauguration ceremony of Treatment Plant-I in Karachi, the PPP leader said that the federal and provincial governments must work together to address the worsening security situation.
Bilawal, the former foreign minister, also urged all political parties to keep political interests separate from the terrorism issue, warning that deteriorating conditions would not remain confined to a single province.
He said that India is behind the terrorist activities originating from Afghanistan and criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for “failing to give sufficient importance” to terrorism despite frequent attacks in the province.
He warned that if the provincial government did not cooperate with the Centre, constitutional options such as governor’s rule or an emergency could eventually have to be considered.
Bilawal said KP is not giving due importance to the issue of terrorism, and this might eventually lead to the imposition of governor’s rule.
‘Centre eyed governor’s rule, PPP called for talks’
Turning to political tensions between Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the PML-N-led government over the former’s decision to hold a long march towards Islamabad, Bilawal said all political parties should recognise the importance of ongoing negotiations and work towards a political solution in the national interest.
The PTI had earlier postponed its planned long march towards Islamabad from September 27 to October 4. The former ruling party has said the protest is aimed at seeking the release of its jailed founding chairman, Imran Khan, and what it describes as the restoration of constitutional supremacy.
The PPP chairman said political stability would strengthen democracy and enable the country to tackle terrorism more effectively without resorting to emergency measures.
He said the federal government had previously considered imposing Governor’s Rule or an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but the PPP believed every effort should first be made to find a political solution. He said his party had proposed allowing political parties to hold talks with the PTI to persuade it to end its long march.
Bilawal said political parties had the right to protest, but maintained that PTI’s protest had already achieved its objectives and should now be concluded. Referring to the disruption in Islamabad, he said the capital had remained effectively shut for 10 days and urged political workers to acknowledge their success and end the march.
