Bilawal rejects ‘Kulbhushan Jadhav ordinance’

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday blasted the government for introducing a secret “Kulbhushan Jadhav ordinance” and described the move as “absolutely outrageous”.

He shared the images of the International Court of Justice (Review and Re-consideration) Ordinance promulgated on May 20, 2019 which would ultimately benefit Kulbhushan Jadhav – an Indian spy arrested and later sentenced to death for fomenting insurgency in Balochistan and helped carrying out terror activities in the country.

What is this secret Kulbhushan Jadhav ordinance introduced by our selected govt without taking the country or parliament into confidence. Absolutely outrageous. We demand answers & accountability. Yet another reason why this PM must go. https://t.co/phFy8Q5D4U pic.twitter.com/e359KozDLo

— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) July 17, 2020

Why “our selected government” introduced this ordinance without taking the country or Parliament into confidence, said Bilawal.

“We demand answers and accountability. Yet another reason why this PM must go,” the PPP chairman added.

Later, he addressed a press conference in Sukkur and declared the ordinance as unconstitutional. The extremist outfits and Difa-e-Pakistan Council would have staged a sit-in in Islamabad if they (PPP) had introduced the ordinance, said Bilawal.

The PTI government’s ordinance is aimed at facilitating Kulbhushan Jadhav, he remarked. “Why the government wants to facilitate Kulbhushan Jadhav,” he asked.

The country’s prime minister should not be a selected prime minister, he said. “Imran Khan is the prime minister of Twitter and Facebook only,” the PPP chairman remarked and added that the selected prime minister could not stay in the office.

Bilawal said the PTI government was blackmailing the NAB and using the anti-graft body to target the rival politicians. The government had resorted to victimisation, he said while citing the case of Khursheed Shah who, he added, deserved justice.

Khursheed Shah is the only assembly member who isn’t even getting bail, noted the PPP chairman and called for same law for every person while protecting their constitutional rights.

He said the NFC Award was still under attack and the provinces were not getting due share defined by law. Imran wanted to push Pakistan back to the One Unit formula, Bilawal said.

Earlier in the day, PPP Parliamentary leader Senator Sherry Rehman warned that Prime Minister Imran Khan would be responsible if anything happened to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Addressing the Senate session, Sherry raised the issue of a threatening tweet posted by Ehsanullah Ehsan who had claimed the responsibility for the APS Peshawar attack and said Imran described Osama bin Laden – world’s most wanted terrorist as a martyr but hadn’t withdrew the statement so far.

Asking the prime minister to learn how to earn respect, the PPP leader said the government must explain how the Twitter account of Ehsan got verified. Bilawal’s mother Benazir Bhutto too fell prey to terrorism, she reminded the treasury benches.

On the other hand, PML-N leader Senator Mushahidullah Khan, on a point of order, said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was practically shut for the last two years at the behest of the United States.

That’s the reason why China recently entered into an agreement with Iran involving $400 billion, he added.

He was responding to the claim made by State Minister Ali Muhammad Khan in House that the government wasn’t considering any plan to reduce the retirement age and the rumours circulated on social media should not spread further.

Mushahidullah said the state minister should also share this advice with Imran who had talked about $200 billion [corruption].

He remarked that it was being claimed that the government wasn’t making decision on the US insistence and cited the example of CPEC as well as the release of Indian pilot Abhinandan Varthaman.