PPP chairman visited the house of Shaheed Abdul Rehman, a 12-year-old party worker who was martyred in an attack

KARACHI, 23 February: Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that his party will not forget the injustices meted out to it during the recent general elections and the martyrdom of Jiyalas.. He mentioned that the opposition parties, protesting in the name of ‘Dhandhali’ (rigging), have never won elections in Sindh, while Imran Khan wants Mian Shahbaz Sharif to become the Prime Minister.

According to the press release issued by the Media Cell of Bilawal House, the PPP chairman visited the house of Shaheed Abdul Rehman, a 12-year-old party worker who was martyred in an attack by armed MQM activists during the recent election campaign in New Karachi. He offered condolences to Shaheed Abdul Rehman’s mother, Rasoola Bibi, and maternal uncle, Abdul Ghaffar, and offered Fateha for the martyr’s eternal peace.

Speaking to the media on the occasion, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that there was pressure on the family of Shaheed Abdul Rehman to end their association with the PPP, adding that when they did not comply, they were fired upon. He said that instead of providing justice to the victim’s family, law enforcement agencies registered FIRs against it. He announced that his party’s upcoming government in Sindh would form a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to investigate all violent incidents during the elections. “By giving exemplary punishment to those involved in the violence as per the law, we will bring justice to our workers as well as all other political workers, ensuring that such incidents do not happen again in the future,” he added.

The PPP chairman said that the 2024 elections were not much different from the 2018 elections, and recalled: “I raised my objections to the election in front of the whole of Pakistan after the (party’s) Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting.” He said that, according to Forms-45, PPP candidates have won PS-124 and PS-125, but candidates from other parties have been declared successful in these constituencies. He furthered that the PPP would fight its case on the relevant forums regarding electoral discrepancies. “I hope we will get justice, and if we don’t, we will chalk out the future course of action,” he added.

The Chairman PPP said that those who are protesting unnecessarily in the name of ‘Dhandhali’ in Sindh these days have not won a single election in the past. “It is strange that parties that cannot win elections without ‘dhandhali’ are now protesting against ‘Dhandhali,'” he said, adding that these people are not against ‘Dhandhali,’ but they are asking for a free hand to engage in Rigging. He pointed out that in the 2002, 2013, and 2018 elections too, these parties had lost to the PPP.” Addressing the protesting parties, he asked them not to just make allegations but to present evidence. “Tell us which constituencies and polling stations experienced rigging. Has my Larkana seat been rigged? From where did I win with a lead of one lac,” he asked.

Responding to a question, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that now the Sunni Ittehad Council (he meant PTI) should tell the truth to its workers that it does not have the majority to form the government, adding that the PTI did not stop Shahbaz Sharif from becoming the Prime Minister. “If Shahbaz Sharif is going to become the prime minister, he will thank us and the PTI, (because) I think Khan Sahib himself would have decided not to field a candidate against Shahbaz Sharif,” he contended.

Talking about the issue of writing a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the PPP chairman said that writing a letter against Pakistan to the IMF will not accomplish anything. However, after this letter, the real face of the person has been revealed in front of the public, who love his politics more than the national interest.

Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that religious, linguistic, and sectarian terrorism are our “red lines.” We will not tolerate these things neither in the metropolis nor in this province. “Those parties who want to promote terrorism, it will be their mistake. (As) we will not allow this to happen here,” he warned.

Later, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited the residence of the party’s Information Secretary, Shiraz Awan for PS-99 in North Karachi and condoled the killing of his nephew and former General Secretary of People’s Youth Organization (PYO), Abdul Wahid Awan Shaheed. He also offered condolences to the martyr’s father, Tariq Pervaiz, brothers Abdul Wajid, Hafiz Faisal, and Shah Rukh, and offered Fateha for the Shaheed.