The PPP spent the death anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto largely on the defensive. Admittedly, this was to be expected given that the accountability net is closing in on the top party leadership. This week has seen the government place both Bilawal Zardari Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari on the Exit Control List (ECL). In fact, the Centre has taken preventive action to stop all 172 individuals who were named and shamed by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the fake bank account case from leaving the country.
\nThus what should have been an occasion to demand justice for Benazir turned into a call to political arms against the ruling PTI. There was Bilawal, accusing Prime Minister Imran Khan of doing his best to introduce a one-unit system whereby power is seized from the provinces and concentrated in the Centre; as the 18th Amendment is trampled underfoot. And while legitimate appeals were given to the new political set-up for introspection in terms of due process \u2014 it remains regrettable that the PPP Chairman vowed that he and the people rejected the JIT findings. For here in Pakistan this is tantamount to surrendering the good fight. Indeed, political rulers across the world all too often only remember the will of the citizenry and the sanctity of the vote when they find themselves in a legal fix. Yet one can never fool all of the people all of the time.
\nWhere Bilawal has secured political mileage, however, is in his vocal support of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM); albeit without naming the group. He also echoed the latter\u2019s pledge of solidarity with the disappeared of Balochistan. Thereby prompting his defenders to proclaim this as the real reason behind his ECL appearance. And the government has done itself no favours in this regard. Not when Pashtun human rights activists like Gulalai Ismail have been summoned before the Federal Investigation Agency\u2019s (FIA) Counter Terrorism Wing (CTW). Or when elected PTM MNAs Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir were previously barred from leaving the country. Be that as it may, this remains, when all is said and done, a false linkage. For there is no connection between pending corruption cases and Pashtun fundamental rights. Though pretending otherwise allows party loyalists to take up this battle; primarily on social media. This is convenient given that the chances of pro-PPP street power are rather slim. After all, as pundits warn, the party will not want to risk destabilising its own government in Sindh; the only province where it maintains political relevancy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The PPP spent the death anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto largely on the defensive. Admittedly, this was to be expected given that the accountability net is closing in on the top party leadership. This week has seen the government place both Bilawal Zardari Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari on the Exit Control List (ECL). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-article"],"yoast_head":"\n