Islamabad
\nForeign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday termed the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion as progress for Pakistan\u2019s democracy.
\nThe minister made the remarks while addressing the closing ceremony of the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore.
\nThe foreign minister\u2019s speech was interrupted at times by sloganeering from the audience. In one instance, a group of participants stood up and chanted slogans demanding the release of incarcerated MNA Ali Wazir.
\nAt the outset of his speech, Bilawal talked about how Imran was ousted through a no-confidence motion. He stated that \u201cfalse equivalence\u201d was being given to the end of the PTI government and previous governments.
\nHe termed Imran\u2019s ouster a \u201cbig victory\u201d for the progress of Pakistan\u2019s democracy and parliament. \u201cImran is the first premier to be sent packing in the form of a no-confidence motion [\u2026] there is only one legitimate and democratic way to remove a prime minister and bring in another, through a no-confidence motion.\u201d
\nHe lamented that in the past premiers were exiled, hanged or killed in bomb blasts. \u201cSo this is progress for our democratic system that we sent a premier packing through parliament.\u201d
\nThe minister hoped that this precedent would continue in the future.
\nIn his speech, FM Bilawal also criticised Imran for his governance, saying that the PTI chief deliberately endangered the economy on his way out. Imran thought that if he endangered the economy, the people would blame his successor, he said, adding that the country was in danger of defaulting.
\n\u201cTo play with the health of a country\u2019s economy, to play Russian roulette with the country\u2019s economy [\u2026] was an injustice with the people of Pakistan.\u201d
\nFlood catastrophe
\nFM Bilawal also talked about the devastating floods in the country, terming it to be a \u201cclimate catastrophe, the likes of which we\u2019ve never seen\u201d.
\n\u201cThe cameras have gone. There are no more viral videos on social media. But our brothers and sisters are still [suffering],\u201d he said, adding that some parts of Sindh and Balochistan were still under water.
\n\u201cThirty three million is such a big number, I find it hard to quantify. It means one out of seven Pakistanis have been affected.\u201d
\nThis is a historic climate catastrophe, he said, adding that this should be the main issue for all citizens and politicians. He added that the world should be informed that Pakistan was not fault for the devastation it was facing.
\n\u201cPakistan contributes 0.8 per cent to the global carbon footprint as far as climate change is concerned. We are the eighth most climate stressed country on the planet,\u201d he said, adding that Pakistan was paying the price of industrialisation of rich countries.
\nBilawal said that in the rehabilitation and reconstruction phase, Pakistan would build back better, greener and in a more resilient manner. He called for all political parties to formulate a joint strategy on climate catastrophes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday termed the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion as progress for Pakistan\u2019s democracy. The minister made the remarks while addressing the closing ceremony of the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore. The foreign minister\u2019s speech was interrupted at times by sloganeering from the audience. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[555,364],"class_list":{"0":"post-291083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-bilawal-bhutto-zardari","9":"tag-ppp"},"yoast_head":"\n