LAHORE – PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Thursday announced that he would lead a “long march” against the PTI government from Karachi to Islamabad on February 27.
Speaking at a news conference in Lahore, Bilawal demanded immediate and transparent elections in the country and said that democracy was the only solution to Pakistan’s problems. He said the nation wanted to get rid of the “selected” government and a transparent election was the only solution.
Giving details of the long march, Bilawal said the PPP would initiate its long march on February 27 from Mazar-e-Quaid. He said: “No matter what comes in our way, we will reach Islamabad at any cost and present our demands.”
Criticising the government’s economic policies, the PPP chairman said the government had “surrendered” to international organisations and now the country’s economic autonomy was “at stake”.
Speaking about the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill, which was presented in the National Assembly last month to meet the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bilawal said that SBP’s autonomy too was “at stake”.
“The State Bank will neither be answerable to Parliament nor any courts,” he said.
He said his party was working on a legal course of action to take against the SBP bill.
Referring to the supplementary finance bill, which was referred to as “mini-budget” by the Opposition, Bilawal lashed out at the government and said their “intentions are clear to get it approved by force” from the parliament.
Terming the “mini-budget” an “anti-state bill”, the PPP chairman said, “We will protest in front of the Parliament House on the day of voting on it.”
It is pertinent to mention here that a National Assembly session has been convened on January 10 to have the supplementary finance bill approved.
