F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that the Pakistan People’s Party’s two-day long meeting of CEC has concluded. The current political situation of the country was discussed with respect to stability. Concerns about Pakistan reaching a crisis point were also under discussion.
The Pakistan Peoples Party’s principled stance is that it needs to help the country emerge from the plethora of crises it is faced with. The time has come yet again for the Party to raise the slogan of ‘Pakistan Khappay’. “The reality is that the PPP does not have a mandate to form the federal government and this is why, I will not be putting myself forward for the candidacy of the Prime Minister of Pakistan”, Chairman PPP said. There are two other groups that have more numbers in the National Assembly, the independent group and the PML-N. The PTI has announced that they will not engage in a dialogue with the PPP and that rules out the possibility of an independent and PTI-led government.
That leaves us with PML-N which is the only political party in the National Assembly who have reached out to the PPP and invited us to join their government. The PPP has decided that while we are not in a position to join the federal government ourselves, nor will we be interested in taking ministries in such a setup, we also do not want to see political chaos in the country. We do not want to see perpetual crisis in the country.
What are our options? If the PTI does not want our votes and the PML-N does not form a majority, and if I am not the PM candidate and this House fails to elect a PM and form the government, then we will have to go back for re-elections and this will lead to another perpetuation of this political crisis. Political stability will not return, rather political instability will increase. The consequences of this will be faced by the people of Pakistan, who at this moment, are facing not only a political crisis but also an economic one, the very real threat of terrorism and climate change.
The PPP contested this election on a manifesto, one that revolved around the issues of public importance including the Awami Muashi Muahida and our commitment to the people of Pakistan to put an end to the political instability and toxicity. To that end, the PPP will be willing to support on an issue-to-issue basis and in the case of important votes for the candidate of the PM of Pakistan, to ensure that a government is formed and political stability is restored. In that context, the PPP has decided that we will form a committee of members of the Party to engage with other political parties. As far as government formation is concerned and the question of political stability, the PPP will make a committee to engage with counterparts based on its views. We will make efforts to push the country in a direction which is the right of the Pakistani people, who participated in this election. They do not wish for further chaos. They are looking at their politicians to help them emerge from further turmoil.
The members of the CEC raised objections over the PML-N and our experience with them for 18 months. Members of the Party, especially from Punjab, KP and other provinces expressed their grievances over their issues not being resolved. Confidence-building hence is vital, which is why we will not only discuss government formation in the meetings with other parties, but also demand of them to address the PPP’s grievances.
Talking about the 2024 general elections, Chairman PPP said that unfortunately, as was the case in the past, including 2013 and 2018, this election too suffered from similar objections. The members of the PPP’s CEC too expressed their views regarding the level playing field, rigging and irregularities. It has been decided that the PPP’s CEC will collect all such complaints as far as this election is concerned. Moreover, despite these objects, grievances and protests over these elections, we will accept the results due in the larger interest of the people and the country. We would simultaneously want to address these issues so that the upcoming elections are not questioned. We will also use forums such as the Election Commission of Pakistan, the Parliament etc.
