Karachi
\nPPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Wednesday that the country\u2019s Constitution, election, and democracy were halted due to \u201cone person\u2019s return\u201d \u2014 taking a veiled jibe at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif. Despite being partners in the last government and demanding the former three-time prime minister\u2019s return, the PPP has kept raising concerns that Nawaz might get a \u201cspecial relief\u201d. Nawaz will return to Pakistan on Saturday (October 21), with the PML-N\u2019s legal team being hopeful that he will not have to go to jail despite being a convict and an absconder.
\n\u201cOur previous allies will have to acknowledge that delaying elections will not \u2018give respect to vote\u2019, rather disrespect it,\u201d Bilawal said during a public rally in Karachi, hitting out at the PML-N, whose slogan has been \u201cvote ko izzt do (give respect to the sanctity of vote)\u201d.
\nThe PPP chairman also said that he wants to end the politics of divide and abuse, adding that if politicos keep fighting amongst themselves, the country will not progress.
\n\u201cWe demanded that those who defied the Constitution be punished. The entire nation should be aware of who was wrong and who was right,\u201d Bilawal, who served as the foreign minister under Shehbaz Sharif in the PDM-led government, said.
\nHe said the PPP had to swallow the \u201cbitter pill\u201d of elections moving past 90 days, but asked all political parties to back his party in demanding the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce the date for general elections.
\nThe PDM government\u2019s term ended in August and the polls, under the Constitution, were set to be held within 90 days, but as a free census was conducted, new delimitations halted the polls.
\nThe ECP had last month announced that the general polls will be held in January next year, but the final delimitations are still awaited.
\n\u201cThe election commission should immediately announce the date for the polls. We should, once and for all, end this politics of divide […] the PPP is ready for elections,\u201d the party\u2019s chairman said.
\nThe PPP leader, during the rally, also announced that his party was kick-starting their mass contact campaign, which will demand the ECP issue election\u2019s date.
\n\u201cLet the people exercise their right to vote; they will have to accept the demand of the people,\u201d Bilawal added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karachi PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said Wednesday that the country\u2019s Constitution, election, and democracy were halted due to \u201cone person\u2019s return\u201d \u2014 taking a veiled jibe at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif. Despite being partners in the last government and demanding the former three-time prime minister\u2019s return, the PPP has kept raising concerns […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-362421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n