Bilawal House security challenged

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Bilawal House security challenged

Imran Ayub Published December 29, 2013

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KARACHI: The PPP and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf seem to be heading towards a face-off in Karachi after the latter announced on Saturday its plan to hold a protest outside the Bilawal House on Sunday against what it called ‘illegal encroachment’ for the building’s security and the former vowed to resist any such move.

A large number of PTI workers led by party’s senior leader and MNA Dr Arif Alvi gathered outside the Bilawal House to review arrangements for the protest.

Dr Alvi said that closure of one of the two tracks outside the Bilawal House was a violation of Sindh High Court’s orders which had asked authorities to open all roads in the area. “During my election campaign I promised to the people in the constituency that I would make every effort to get all roads reopened,” he said.

“So we moved to the high court which in September ordered for the removal of all encroachments as it has become a source of immense hardship and nuisance for the area residents.”

At the time when PTI workers were gathering outside the Bilawal House, PPP patron-in-chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari wrote a message on a social media website: “If Buzdil Khan, Nawaz Sharif and JI find the courage to say 1/2 (half) of what I said versus TTP yesterday (Friday) I will tear down Bilawal House wall myself”.

Minutes later, a sizeable number of PPP workers led by senior leader Najmi Alam assembled at the Bilawal House.

Mr Alam said PPP workers were peaceful, but they “are prepared to defend party’s grace and traditions”.

The two sides raised slogans against each other.

District South’s Deputy Commissioner Dr Mustafa Jamal Kazi said: “We cannot open the road adjacent to the Bilawal House as it was not actually ordered by the high court.”

Pakistan

Imran Ayub is a Karachi-based reporter for Dawn with over 25 years of experience in the field. He reports on political parties, crime, telecom, and local government systems. He can be found on X at @MixPatti.

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Ahmed

Dec 29, 2013 09:38am

Good step, if they have security threat they can leave Karachi or Pakistan.

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syd

Dec 29, 2013 09:58am

This has nothing to do with security. They are already quite secure with the private armies and motorcades. The heading of the article is biased and in favor of PPP.

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Javid ex ppp

Dec 29, 2013 10:27am

So sad and naive comments are coming from Bilawal. It shows he is still a baby child and who does not even know how to respect elders. What a shame that standard of PPP has gone so down. I dnt support PTI but Imran khan served Pakistan whole life unlike corrupt PPP politicians.

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Javid ex ppp

Dec 29, 2013 10:30am

With leaders like Bilawal, i see pakistan doomed forever. No hope at all. May Allah help peoples of my city who are still living in this dark society.

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Saleem

Dec 29, 2013 11:18am

Bilawal House need to move out of the city if they are scared of threats. Public must not suffer on an on going basis just because of some elites not feeling safe. Ordinary public will feel safer in the absence of this symbol of tyranny. Hats off to PPP workers who think encroachments and embezzlements by all and sundry is the source of party's grace and traditions ... LOL ... If US consulate can be pushed to Mai Kolachi so can Bilawal House.

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Salman

Dec 29, 2013 01:34pm

The wall is a sign of feudalism and sick mentality which is prevalent in the politcal class of this country and which is eating this country like a virus. They have occupied two three lane roads plus a service lane. What kind of security is this ? The walls and road blockade are a nuisance to the area residents and also to thousands of people who frequent the area every day. Many businesses have shut down and the others are suffering badly. On top of that Zardari has built three 12 feet walls on the roads with public money. What are they afraid of ? A police mobile with service lane occupied would have been enough. If they are so afraid of people who vote them to power they shoudl leave Pakistan and live somewhere else where they cant even occupy 1 cm of area. There are no rules in this country and the leaders abuse their power so openly and shamelessly.

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Em Moosa

Dec 29, 2013 06:08pm

Great job of PTI for the convenience of the common people. Zardaris are not the owners of the country. Common man is more important than them. All the mess should be cleaned up.

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Imran Ahmed

Dec 29, 2013 10:12pm

The VVIP mentality of the dynastic oppressive ruling class takes one's breath away, the irony is that Bilawal House and it's judicially condemned monstrously encroaching walls belong to the chairman of a socialist democratic party where equality is proclaimed and exploitation of the weak and poor loudly condemned.

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independentthinker

Dec 29, 2013 10:22pm

Here is a man who is not afraid to die - he has devoted his life, like his mother and grandfather - to the cause of helping the poor and the working class. Why, then, does he need all this security and also, with all this security, this man skips the country whenever his life is threatened. Let's face it, Bilawal! You don't have the guts and your only motivation to stay in the limelight is to rob the people, more than your parents already have. Personally, I think you should be happy with the billions that you have already stolen. You are not taking any of that loot with you and your future generations will all be taken care of, with all the money already in the coffer.

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Ali

Dec 30, 2013 05:34am

IK NS and JI should take up the challenge of Bilawal and utter half of what Bilawal said against the TTP and make Bilawal break the illegal wall, it will be a peaceful end to this fiasco and it is also the desire of the Nation.

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Masoud

Dec 30, 2013 03:48pm

What is Bilawal House, why so mush security is required. Better make a new Bilawal House in Gari Khuda Buksh I mean Larkana. Only the CM & governor house deserve the type of security now Bilawal is enjoying. There is a ruling to remove the barricade around this house but still no action taken to do so.

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Ghani

Dec 31, 2013 04:37am

Bilawal - Please come back to London. We miss you.

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Shafiq Khan

Dec 31, 2013 05:04pm

@Ali: Is not it strange that one political party leader whose party was in power; not many moon ago; chooses to decide the policy of the other political parties! Although I support what he said, but I can not accept his right to decide for other party leaders. Yes, he can go on and get all the political mileage out of a situation , but he has as much right as the other party leaders had when his party was in power. Stop winging .

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Muhammad

Dec 31, 2013 06:47pm

They make it sound like the Great Wall of China or the Berlin Wall as if it is not there, it would be the end of life for the prestigious politician family. They have every excuse in the world to justify anything ever done/ordered/initiated by them. Puppet-like politicians just say what they are told by the higher ups. One such female member of the party said something like 'The PTI is Pakistan Dharna Party. First they interrupted the NATO supplies in KPK, and now they don't want us to follow up on security protocol for ourselves'. Sure, security at the cost of the public for which they pay taxes, not the elites who are afraid of dying, An average middle-class working Pakistani (salaried people, businessmen) are paying taxes. I was charged taxes out of my salary slip every month I worked, while on the other hand, millionaires pay 50,000 rupees (for the millions they make every month) once in a blue moon and they take pride in it. But, they still need security. I don't know who is going to put an end to these atrocities, Certainly not the corrupt political masses, but culprits need to start taking responsibility for their wrong-doings. Dear PPP loyals..... ZAB would not have wanted The Great Wall of Bilawal to be standing between your pseudo pride and the people who actually need to use the road past the Fort.

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Ali Ahmad

Dec 31, 2013 07:10pm

This illegal encroachment should be removed. Khayaban-e-Saadi was a wide street going all the way to the beach. Now it has been reduced to a narrow laneway where traffic from the residents of the area negotiate the safety of their property and their vehicles on the narrow laneway. Whatever the ideology of the PPP this illegal encroachment is a slap in the face of democratic values, a blatant violation of the rights of people. Now that Asif Zardari is no more the President the voices against this illegal encroachment are slowly getting louder. I support these voices and Bilawal please ask daddy to get these illegal walls removed.

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Irfan Butt

Dec 31, 2013 08:17pm

If the blockade is to protect the Bhutto family from TTP, then Bilawal should pay the City the market price of the land used. It shouldn't be on concession rate. Pay the city, so that money can be spent to find/improve an alternate route for the local citizens.

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