LAHORE: Upping the ante against interior minister, Pakistan Peoples’ Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has alleged that Chaudhry Nisar misused his authority in implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism.

“Instead of targeting the terrorists against whom the National Action Plan had been devised, the interior minister abused the law for political victimisation by focusing more on opponents like Dr Asim Husain, Ayyan Ali and others, than fanatics and extremists,” he said speaking at the party’s Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) workers’ convention at the Bilawal House on the sixth day of the PPP’s foundation day ceremonies here on Monday.

“The interior minister is such a self-esteemed person that he shed tears on the death of Hakeemullah Mehsud,” he alleged in a reference to Chaudhry Nisar’s criticism of the US drone attack that had killed the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader.

Donning the traditional cap of GB, the PPP leader said the “NRO” of the PML-N stood exposed in the GB elections when, he alleged, extremists were fielded to hit PPP’s vote bank.

He claimed the PPP was the only political organisation in the country that initiated a war against terrorism. He hastened to clarify that he was not saying so just as a political rival but “the fact is that the N-League doesn’t want to talk on terrorism because of political expediency.”

Alleges money was used to rig AJK poll

He also alleged that money was used to rig the recently poll in Azad Kashmir, which the PPP lost badly.

In a veiled reference to the 15th constitutional amendment that Nawaz Sharif in his previous tenure as prime minister had tried to pass for introducing certain Sharia laws, Bilawal said he (Nawaz) still desired to become ameerul momineen (a title used by Muslim caliphs) but was “hiding his beard in his fat tummy.”

Referring to his so far the longest stay in Lahore, he spelled out the reason behind it. “I’m here to democratically occupy the politics of Punjab”.

Reiterating his four demands, he sought a pledge from those in attendance that they would come on roads when he would give a call for an anti-government movement on Dec 27.

Though it managed to form its government in the centre thrice during the last three decades, the party has been failing to win in Punjab.

He assured the party workers of a “turnaround” if people sided with him in his struggle.

“If the people of GB, AJK, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Wasaib (south Punjab) and of the most progressive city of Lahore will stand with me, we can defeat the Sharifs,” he declared, saying the ruling family had been defeated many times in the past.

Giving credit to his father Asif Ali Zardari for forcing former army dictator Gen Msuharraf to shed his uniform, he promised amid slogans from the audience to bring ex-president Zardari back to the Presidency and winning the offices of prime minister and all the chief ministers’ by sweeping 2018 general election.

Mr Bilawal also demanded development projects for GB, comparing the area with Punjab that was getting costly projects like the Orange Line Metro Train.

Published in Dawn December 6th, 2016