Disputed verdict will make judiciary, next polls controversial: Bilawal

Islamabad, April 7 : Just ahead of the Pakistan Supreme Court’s verdict on Thursday on the “unconstitutional” ruling by National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejecting the no-trust motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari warned that a disputed verdict will make Parliament, judiciary, and the upcoming elections controversial. Speaking on Geo News programme Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath, Bilawal Bhutto rejected the “doctrine of necessity”, saying it’s not acceptable now. “In the past, we have seen the doctrine of necessity which is not acceptable now, therefore, we should look towards the Constitution of Pakistan only,” he asserted. “We want the court decision regarding the deputy speaker’s unconstitutional ruling to be in favour of the Constitution. It should not be in mine or Imran Khan’s favour,” he added. Responding to PML-Q’s decision to join PTI, Bilawal said that despite the breach of promise by PML-Q, the Opposition still had a majority. “We (the joint Opposition) have proved a majority in the Centre as well in Punjab,” he said. The PPP chairperson said that PM Imran Khan had abrogated the Constitution of Pakistan and ran away. “Now we hope that [the] judiciary will steer [the] country out of this constitutional crisis,” he said, adding that, “we believe the court decision will restore democracy in the country and make institutions uncontroversial too.” He opined that election reforms were necessary for a transparent election in the country. “By making election reforms, we can get out of the crisis we have been facing from [the] last 30 years,” he said. But he added that PM Imran Khan dissolved Parliament in an unconstitutional way, so the Opposition could not get the time for election reforms. Bilawal went on to say that they want a transparent and fair election. The PPP chairperson also lambasted Imran Khan for “fabricating a false narrative of a foreign conspiracy”. He was speaking about the ‘threat letter’ that Imran Khan brandished at a jalsa at D-chowk. Since then, he said the “PM is labelling the Opposition leaders as traitors for hatching a plot to topple his government”, the News International reported. Subsequently, the PM called an NSC meeting and presented the letter. However, following the directions of the meeting, a ‘demarche’ was issued to the US envoy. Bilawal said Imran Khan had attempted to drag institutions into politics, saying that the NSC meeting was called solely for political purposes and stirred up an issue of an international conspiracy. “The way the PM is building up a narrative, a clarification should be issued in this regard,” he said, adding that, “He (PM) is fabricating a false narrative against PPP as NSC’s meeting statement did not mention any conspiracy.” ING