KARACHI: Pakistan People Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Sunday that Imran Khan is running a “why was I not saved movement” and lying that he was ousted by a foreign conspiracy.
Addressing a rally in Karachi, the foreign minister lashed out at Imran, rubbishing the PTI chief’s claim that his government was ousted through a foreign conspiracy at the behest of the United States.
“The conspiracy to oust the PTI government was not hatched inside the White House, but was prepared inside Bilawal House,” he said while addressing PTI Chairman Iman Khan.
“Now this selected says it was a foreign conspiracy. It’s not a foreign conspiracy, it was a democratic action. It was the struggle of PPP workers, it was the success of Constitution and parliamentary democracy,” Bilawal said.
Bilawal said it was the PPP’s efforts that led to the formation of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) – an alliance of former opposition parties.
“Forgetting our political differences, together with other parties, we formed the PDM and on September 20, 2020, when we laid the basis for PDM, we had clearly said we would do long marches and protests and that we would also struggle inside parliament and send the PTI government home through a vote of no-confidence,” Bilawal recalled.
He said at first PPP’s allies did not agree on an in-house change but “in politics, you have to convince everyone and it is the leader’s responsibility to show the way,” Bilawal said.
“So we convinced others, we practically showed our allies and made them understand not to resign from parliament. When our stance was accepted, the selected government lost all by-elections, proving that their mandate was false and that they had come to the helm through the selection
“Democracy has won, all four provinces have won. We have sent the selected, puppet and incompetent prime minister home,” said Bilawal.
“We were standing against this undemocratic person since day one. We looked into his eyes and said you were not elected but selected. We faced injustice but did not sell our principles,” he said.
The PPP chairman went on to say that when he began his long march, he asked Khan to dissolve the assembly but he was under the influence of power and did not listen to the then Opposition.
Bilawal said that the then Opposition submitted the no-confidence motion against Khan when his caravan reached Islamabad.
“We used democratic means to send an undemocratic person home,” said Bilawal and added that the PTI chairman’s government was removed as part of the democratic process compared to what he claimed was a foreign conspiracy.
The foreign minister said that Khan’s removal from power was not a foreign conspiracy but a win for political workers, adding that Khan’s ouster was a victory of the Parliament, the Constitution, and democracy.
Bilawal said that the former government stole people’s jobs and instead of ending corruption, it broke all records of corruption.
“Imran wanted every institution to turn into his tiger force. Imran wanted the establishment to turn into a tiger force and support him,” claimed Bilawal, adding that the PTI chairman caused harm to the country as he was leaving.
“The coward would not even come and stand in the Parliament. Khan attacked the Constitution while running away from the no-confidence motion,” said Bilawal, adding that the PTI chairman is running a”why was I not saved movement”.
“What kind of a prime minister was he as he ruined the economy during his tenure? He emptied the treasury and left an economic crisis to torture people,” said Bilawal.
The foreign minister also said that the former premier “isolated the country for the sake of his ego” and harmed Pakistan’s foreign policy.
