In case of coalition govt, PPP will not support ‘expired politics’ of PML-N or PTI: Bilawal

Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has declared that if a coalition government is formed as a result of the upcoming general elections, he does not want to support any of the Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

In an exclusive interview with BBC, Bilawal said that 'I was already disappointed with the role of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). “I am very disappointed with Mian Sahib's (Nawaz Sharif) character, so our distance is quite clear nowadays and if he has to do the same old politics, I cannot support him.”

Regarding the elections, Bilawal said that 'at one time we thought that there would be a level-playing field, but this has always been a problem.”

On the possibility of a coalition government, Bilawal said that he does not want to support PML-N and PTI, but he has expressed the hope of forming a government with independent candidates.

He said that in his view both (Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif) want to do the old politics, the same (politics) which (we) have seen fail time and again. “I do not want to support either PTI or PML-N. We want to take the country's system towards improvement with a new thinking and passion.”

He said that these people (N-League, Tehreek-e-Insaf) harm democracy and the state because of their personal egos.

Regarding the independent candidates, Bilawal said that 'majority are not PTI ticket-holders, there are people in Punjab who are against PML-N and are independent. “There are many who were once with the PTI or with the PPP and have disentangled themselves from them.”

He expressed the hope that after the elections Pakistan People's Party can get the support of independent candidates.

Talking about PPP's focus on election campaign in Punjab, he said “We are campaigning in all four provinces. Has addressed many meetings. We take elections and democracy very seriously.”

Bilawal said that it is just the beginning and he will continue to do a lot of work.

'What is happening with Imran Khan is a Karma'

After the conviction of PTI founder Imran Khan in various cases, the transparency of elections is also being questioned.

Speaking in this regard, Bilawal said that 'standards are not high in our country, many politicians could not contest elections in 2018 and many politicians could not contest elections in 2013.'

However, he pointed to Imran Khan and said, "This is a karma (what goes around, comes around). During this entire time (2013 to 2018), the happiest politician was Imran Khan. This is an act of hypocrisy. If they are out today, they should also look at their political decisions: they decided to leave the assemblies, they attacked the institutions in an undemocratic manner. We live in Pakistan, they should have known that this kind of violence will not be tolerated by the state of Pakistan.”

Bilawal said that 'the politics of hatred and division is spread in our entire society, by burying it we should solve the problems of Pakistan together and this cannot be done by Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif, only the People's Party can do it’.

He said that if his government comes, he would not want any political prisoners in the country. “Khan Sahib kept the most political prisoners, I would not want a single political prisoner in my government if we get the government,” he added.

According to Bilawal, there will be a continuous struggle to eliminate the role of the establishment from politics.

In response to a question, Bilawal said “RTS will have to be seen now, but as far as the role of the establishment is concerned, there will have to be a continuous struggle for it”.

However, they understand that 'politicians will have to take the first step in this regard and if they do not respect each other, then what can we expect from others to respect us.”

He further said that politicians should stay within the realm of politics and do politics.