Important For Assemblies To Complete Term, No Early Polls: Bilawal:
Important For Assemblies To Complete Term, No Early Polls: Bilawal
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday ruled out the possibility of early elections, saying that it is important for the assemblies to complete their term for democracy to flourish in the country.
In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Bhutto said instead of furthering democracy, the early elections would instead further Imran Khan’s agenda. He said it was important for the assemblies to complete their term unless there was any urgency which currently was not there.
While expressing his view on the country’s crises, FM Bilawal said that the current government inherited “a divided country and a collapsed economy.” The minister reiterated that the coalition parties are working together to resolve the issues and that the incumbent government was looking for solutions to internal problems and consensus at the international level.
Speaking in an interview he said it was for the first time that a prime minister was removed constitutionally through a vote of confidence and not via a coup or court order. He said in order to address the challenges inherited from the previous government, it was essential that the whole country unite as no single political party or individual could address the situation alone.
Rubbishing the accusations of a foreign conspiracy behind the removal of Imran Khan, the foreign minister said political leaders are supposed to speak the truth to their people rather than come up with conspiracy theories adding that Imran Khan’s accusations on the US were for political purposes.”
“The former government’s failed foreign policy has isolated us from the entire world,” said the foreign minister. He added that the incumbent government was looking for solutions to internal problems and consensus at the international level.
To a question, the foreign minister said that the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is an unfinished agenda. “Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election, the space for Muslims in India as well as Kashmir was shrinking, adding that the people of Pakistan and India want to live in peace. To realize this, it’s essential to respect international laws and conventions to address the issue of terrorism and extremism.
Speaking about Afghanistan, the foreign minister said Pakistan was engaging with the war-torn country in the interest of its own as well as the neighborhood. However, he said the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had been involved in terror attacks in the past which were still going on.
He said Pakistan would work with the Afghan government to address the challenge posed by the terrorist outfits.
